The Winter Peony
by FantasiesEscapeFromReality
Summary: Set in medieval Japan, a young Hanzo Shimada is meeting his bride to be-and he isn't thrilled about it. He finds her pushy, loud mouthed, opinionated and brash. Her opinion of him fares no better and when in the same room together there is little surprise in arguments or silence. But a bud is slowly growing, and only the most stubborn and resilient flowers bloom in winter.
1. The Nakado and the Flower

The silence in the room was thick, and the tension hung like a knife ready to strike. Hanzo, at the age of fourteen, kept his gaze politely to the floor as he had been taught, his father beside him to the right, his mother to his left and Genji slightly behind them. He had been dressed in a fine dark blue kimono that had two dragons designed in the fabric and his hair was tied off to the side with a dark blue ribbon. His father and mother were dressed like him and Genji behind him was dressed in a different shade of blue, lighter like the sky with only one dragon stretching across his kimono top.

He was sitting properly with his back straight in perfect posture as he studied a line in the wood on the floor silently, hearing Genji sigh in boredom behind him. He felt the woman across the room staring at him, but he didn't feel nervous, this was his duty to the Shimada family and he would keep the family's honor intact.

"Prince Shimada." The woman said softly from behind her fan, her eyes narrowing slightly. "Tell me, what do you think the purpose of marriage is?" She watched as Hanzo thought for a moment but didn't lift his gaze from the floor, his head tilting slightly to the left with his process.

"To further the family name and honor the ancestors by producing children." Hanzo replied coolly, closing his eyes and ignoring the confused noises Genji was giving behind him. He could hear his brother shifting nervously and knew that soon he would not be able to control himself and have an outburst. Hopefully this meeting would not take much longer.

"Stand, young Shimada." The woman ordered, Hanzo looked to his father who nodded solemnly and kept his gaze forward as Hanzo gently rose to his feet, pulling himself to his full height and kept his hands to his side as the woman rose gracefully and walked around him, the silks of her kimono making the faintest whisper of movement as she circled him. She was an older woman, dressed in a green kimono with a design of bamboo stalks running up the length of the fabric to her obi where green and pink foliage was stitched. Her grey hair was twisted into a decorative bun on the back of her head, keeping it away from her neck and shoulders.

"Strong build, he will be tall," She kept circling him, his eyes locked on a wind chime in the window behind her seat at the far side of the room.

She touched his shoulders with a second fan that was closed. "He will be broad, admirable qualities." She circled around in front of him and tilted his face left and right with the second fan, her face still hidden by the first fan. "Handsome, strong facial features," she leaned in closer, Hanzo could smell the jasmine perfume on her skin and see the flawless makeup she had applied as she looked at his eyes. "He has a strong spirit, an unbreakable will..."

She took her fan and used it to lift his hands and turn them palm up, "Large hands, rough and firm but with the capacity to be gentle." She narrowed her eyes and lifted his right hand, "You have calloused fingers on your right hand... Archers hands..."Hanzo blinked in shock and looked at her as her eyes shone. "You are quick to the point and avoid flashy distractions...You must be on edge with such a long meeting." She chuckled as a little blush tinted his cheeks.

She went back to her place at the other end of the room behind a small knee-high table with papers placed neatly across it. "You will make a fine leader of the Shimada clan; your children will be strong-if we can find you a suitable mate." She gestured for him to sit back down and he did so gently, going back to studying the line in the floor before Genji broke his concentration with a question.

"Wait...What do you mean? 'Find him a suitable mate'?" Genji asked as Hanzo whipped his head back around to face his little brother, shaking his head and pressing his lips into a line to silence the younger Shimada.

"It means we will look over the women in my service and find your brother a bride that will honor the Shimada name by bearing children for your brother." The woman explained, a hint of glee to her voice as the younger Shimada's eyes went wide in shock and Hanzo turned back to face the room and closed his eyes again. "But it will have to be a blessed match, not just any woman is worthy of a dragon's love." She looked down at the papers on the table and lifted one, the fan snapping closed as she lowered it. "And with the Shimada clan, she must not be a commoner or someone of lower standing, we wish to uplift the clan, so no less than a Lord's daughter or a princess shall do."

"Hanzo's going to marry a princess?" Genji asked, tilting his head as Hanzo dipped his head to his chest, he was trying hard to contain himself but part of him wanted to throw his shoe at Genji's head like he did at home in their room when he interrupted his mediation. "Do you love her Onee-chan?"

"I have never met her." Hanzo answered slowly, knowing that this would be the truth of the situation, a woman at random would be selected from her papers of noble Lords and Kings from other regions and meetings would be arranged to see if their union was blessed by the gods and soon whomever Hanzo was paired with would be ushered into a courtship period where a wedding would be planned. "But it will not matter, love is not an essential part of a marriage. It is a partnership to honor our families and I will do my duty to the clan."

"But Onee-chan!" Genji started to argue but Hanzo looked back at him and glared, his eyes hard, he was intent on doing this.

"Oh my..." The woman sighed, placing the paper down on the table in front of her making Hanzo look up in slight shock. "Such a cold heart young Shimada. Love may not be needed immediately, but it keeps the eyes from wandering, the heart from yearning and the body from lusting. Without some sort of love between these-partners as you see them, it spells disaster for the union with adultery and bastard children." She shook her head slowly, the trinkets in her hair swinging and clinking together softly. "There is no honor in a loveless marriage that ends in a spouse taking a lover in secret."

Hanzo lowered his eyes again, feeling his parents look at him but he couldn't tell their emotions behind their collected faces and he could hear Genji fidgeting behind him nervously. When Hanzo had decided to ask to move the meeting along so they could choose a woman there was a soft knock, he hadn't even opened his mouth to speak yet. The match maker's eyes widened a bit and a knowing smile spread across her lips.

"It seems, the gods have seen it fit to thrust your betrothed upon you young Hanzo." She stood gracefully and opened the fan, going to the door and opening it full to reveal a family of three: a man around Hanzo's fathers age and a woman beside him perhaps the same age as Hanzo's mother. They bowed with the match maker to show respect but behind them stood a young girl dressed in a deep purple kimono with white and pink prints in the design, her black hair was done in a simple style with purple and white hair ornaments. Her makeup was done like a Geisha's, white across her face and down her neck with simple eye makeup to make the kimono's color. When the match maker laid eyes on her she bowed deeply, her hands politely folded on the front of her kimono before she was brought inside and the family and placed them across from Hanzo's to mirror them.

The matronly mothers smiled sweetly at one another, their soft faces at ease as if they were here for tea instead of deciding their children's fate; the stern looking fathers bowed their heads to one another in a sign of respect before looking to the other child to seize them up. Hanzo bowed to the mother first, and then the father before returning to his sitting position and looking over the young woman across from him.

Her hazel eyes flicked up and locked with his brown ones before for only a fleeting second before she bowed, the trinkets in her hair swaying as she held it longer than usual, making Hanzo nervous as he bowed back. The match maker went to sit between the two fathers and introduced them to one another.

"Master Shimada, this is Lord Hashira, his wife Saiyuri and their daughter, Jun." She turned and repeated the same way Hanzo's family, even including Genji who stretched to look around Hanzo's shoulder to the young woman. "It seems the gods have brought you all together with reason...if I may?" She looked between the fathers who nodded their consent wordlessly, watching as the older thin woman stood and shuffled between Hanzo and Jun, patting the mat in front of her, urging the two young teenagers to move and sit in front of her side by side.

They sat without looking at one another, their eyes both locked onto different parts of the floor, Jun was on the left, her eyes shifted slightly to the match makers knee furthest away from Hanzo, who was focusing on the floor closest to the match makers knee closest to him, a little more forward but still avoiding any sight of Jun. The match maker reached out and took both teenager by their chin and looked intently into their eyes, Hanzo's first and then Jun's for a moment and back to Hanzo.

"I see, ice." She said looking at Hanzo making him blink in confusion. "A coldness that radiates from the heart, you are distant young Shimada prince. You are a hard one for people to love, a soul that takes time to grow and accept change." She turned and looked Jun in the eyes and Hanzo risked a peek at her, wandering what the match maker saw in her eyes. "I see, a flame, just a tiny one but warm never the less. There is passion there, and an open mind-you have a willingness to accept, though you've tried to fight it..." The match maker smiled, "If cared for and fueled the flame could roar into a fire hot enough to melt even the coldest of hearts." She glanced at Hanzo and turned Jun's head so that Hanzo turned to look at her with the movement, their eyes locking again. There was a short breath taken by them both before-

"Ridiculous." They snapped in unison, pulling their eyes from one another's gaze. Jun covered her mouth with her kimono sleeve and looked back at Hanzo who was looking at her form the corner of his eye, his hand covering his mouth in embarrassment one finger curved in front of his lips.

"HA!" Genji cackled, falling over from his sitting position holding his sides as he laughed, pulling both Jun and Hanzo's attention. "She's just like Onee-chan! Can I call you Ane-chan!" This made Jun blush behind her kimono sleeve as Hanzo glared at his brother.

"Genji! Behave yourself, show some respect!" Hanzo snapped angrily, but the younger Shimada grinned broadly as his father turned to look over his shoulder at his youngest son a smile playing on his lips. "This is not some childish game to be played, this is for the future of our clan!"

"One would be a fool would believe as such." A soft voice said coldly, making Hanzo's eyes widen. He whipped his head around to see Jun looking at him with a guarded expression. "This is utterly ridiculous, child's play indeed." She closed her eyes as Hanzo leaned back away from her.

"Childs play?" he snapped, "I'm here to fulfill my duty to my clan, I would hardly call this child's play!" He put his hand down to the floor and turned himself so he was facing her as the adults watched quietly with interest.

"Then you are a fool." She snapped, her voice mocking as a cruel smile spread across her lips. "This is no more than a game to her." She focused her gaze on the match maker who was grinning slyly, locking eyes with the lord's daughter. "As if one is to believe they can see ice or fire in one's soul from their eyes. She has met me once before and you just today, how could she know us well enough to suggest such a match unless it was a ploy to acquire a large sum of money from our families by arranging such a match so easily." The young woman closed her eyes and turned her head away from them both. "I refuse to fall for any such rouse."

Without prompt Jun stood somewhat less than graceful and made her way around the match maker who smirked as she left, her parents snapping at her to show some respect and dignity, but she didn't stop until she was standing just outside the door, looking over her shoulder to Hanzo as he stared gaping after her from the blatant lack of restraint and she scoffed before disappearing down the walkway.

"Be careful young prince," The match maker chuckled as Hanzo turned to look at her. "Fan or poke the flames in the wrong way and you could end up burned." She cast a sly glance over her shoulder and pulled Hanzo's eyes to the door as he saw Genji's small form slip around the door without the adults seeing him leave as they were engaged in conversation-each trying to save face. "Why don't you go get her while I pray to Gekko-O, the god of marriage."

But before she could say anything else a fox ran into the room with a flower in its mouth and ran up to the match maker before sitting in front of her as if trained and placed the flower in her open hands. "Oh-ho..." She chuckled and pet the fox before it bounded back out of the room, leaving the entire room shocked. "It seems Gekko-O is impatient with this match!" She held up the flower and turned it over in her hand, a single pink primrose. She looked at it lovingly before looking up to at Hanzo and smiling. "I want you two to decide one a single flower out in the garden together and return to this room, together, not separate." She tapped the flower in her hand for a moment before chuckling. She bowed slightly to him and he bowed quickly before getting to his feet, pulling the attention of the adults. As he crossed the room he felt their eyes on him and felt a cold chill raise the hairs on his neck, he turned and bowed to the room.

"Forgive me Lord Hashira, I will return with your daughter and we can continue the meeting uninterrupted." He heard a chuckle and he lifted his head, still bowed at the waist as Jun's father shook his head.

"You may try, young prince, you may try." He chuckled once more and Jun's mother looked tired, "My daughter is very strong willed." Hanzo dipped his head before turning and running from the room and down the walkway, scanning the rooms as he passed for some sign of the Lord's daughter or his little brother. He stopped on the corner and glanced around, there was a little bridge that connected one part of the house to another and a stone step way to someplace he didn't see. He was about to turn and go down the other side of the house when a flash of blue caught his eye and he saw a small feint blue dragon disappear into a flower bed near the stone walkway.

"Nani?" Hanzo muttered, rubbing his eyes and stepping closer to the edge of the porch when he saw a second blue dragon appeared near his feet and went to the flower bed. "Where are you taking me?" He asked as he stepped down and the first dragon appeared, the two dragons circling one another like playing ferrets as they continued down the walkway around a stone statue of a large ball. He followed along, looking around as he continued to keep a mental track of how to get back to the room where his parents were when he heard a voice and all too familiar mischievous laughter.

"Little one! Please!" The voice begged, "Come down from there, you could fall and hurt yourself!"

"My name is Genji! Call me Genji!" Hanzo sighed in annoyance and stormed past the two dragons as they perched on a stone, he followed the path around a large willow tree and saw Jun standing by a pond looking up into a cherry blossom tree where Genji was walking along a branch carelessly.

"Shimada-sama please!" Jun begged, reaching up and putting her hands on her obi, fidgeting with the cord that circled it.

"GENJI!" Genji insisted, jumping on the branch and making it shake, petals shaking and falling.

"Genji-san-" Jun started to plead but Hanzo snapped at him.

"Genji! Get down from there!" He watched as Genji put his legs on the branch and hung upside down and grinned at his brother. "Father and Mother are waiting for us to return! Yours too." He added as he looked to Jun walking closer and standing beside her.

"Ane-chan thinks I'm going to hurt myself!" Genji laughed happily, "I like her Onee-san! She's nice!" He put his hands on the branch and flipped himself so he was hanging by his hands. "I hope you marry her!"

"After an outburst like that I don't think anyone will marry her." Hanzo said out loud and then looked to Jun who dropped her hands and clenched them. "But at any rate we have to go back to the room..." He turned as Genji looked down sadly and noticed the two dragons on the stone looking up at a flower swaying gently in the breeze. "I almost forgot," He turned and looked at Jun who seemed to be upset, her eyes avoiding looking directly at him. "There was a fox that ran into the room while you were gone." He explained and then sighed as if he was annoyed when Genji dropped from the branch beside him, asking excitedly about the fox when he covered his brothers mouth with his hand. "It brought the Nakodo a flower, and then fled the room and gave her an idea. She wants us to pick a flower together from the garden and go back to the room together."

"Ha." Jun scoffed and rolled her eyes. "She would go to such lengths to secure this match to our parents. I pray they see through this act and come to realize what a terrible match this is. 'Blessed by the gods'," She shook her head and turned to walk further into the garden, "feels more like damnation."

"Damnation!" Hanzo snapped, feeling offended. Genji making a small 'oooh' noise as his brother snarled his nose at the girls back. "You have no idea what I am like, how do you know being my wife would be so unpleasant? I however, have seen your attitude and your stubbornness first hand, I pray that whoever your husband is, is blessed by the gods with more patience than I!" Hanzo stormed over to her as he spoke, then around her to cut her off from the path when she refused to stop and glared at her. "I am only repeating orders from the Nakodo, and I will not return with them unfulfilled."

He stepped closer and locked eyes with her as if to threaten her. "You may have no honor but I do, when I left I told them we would finish the meeting uninterrupted and for that to continue." He looked around. "We must pick a flower and return. So, pick something." He gestured around to the lush garden. "I haven't a mind for flowers or arrangements, so nothing about this suits my taste." Jun narrowed her hazel eyes at him, her look souring little by little as Hanzo looked back at her.

"And what makes you think that I have a mind for such tasks?"

"You're a woman, aren't pretty trinkets and flowers-"

"How dare you!" Jun raised a hand to slap Hanzo across the face but he leaned back and grabbed her wrist with his right hand and looked at it as if it were an annoying bug. "You make assumptions on me based off my sex, now who is it that is honor-less and with attitude?" She looked at her wrist as Hanzo tightened his grip in embarrassment. "You're an archer..." She whispered, making him furrow his brow. Without a moment's hesitation Hanzo felt Jun's wrist being wrenched from his grip and he was pulled forward, his arm being pulled behind him and up his back while a hand clenched around his neck and pushed him forward so he leaned toward the ground, his arm being pulled higher until he yelled out in light pain. "Make an assumption of me now archer!"

Hanzo looked up to see Genji's eyes wide and his mouth hanging open as Jun twisted his arm further up his back, holding him in place. He managed to turn his head and look back over his shoulder, Jun's face dark with anger as she glared down at him, the hold on his neck tightening to the point he nails dug into his skin.

"How did you," Hanzo asked as she threw him toward Genji and let him go.

"I am no helpless maiden, despite how my parents force me to dress, I can handle myself!" Jun snapped angrily as Genji whistled and Hanzo brought himself up right, rubbing the back of his neck. "I have been trained in hand to hand combat to protect myself, and I won't be treated like some object by you or anyone else!"

"I... I apologize..." Hanzo muttered making Genji gasp over dramatically, causing Hanzo to put a hand over his brothers mouth to stop him. "I let my anger get the best of me and let my guard down. It will not happen twice." He turned and looked at Jun who took in a breath and released it a second later to calm herself. "Then shall we pick together?"

"You will not let the matter rest will you." Jun snapped in a sigh as Genji snorted with laughter behind Hanzo's hand. "Fine then." She looked around at the various bushes and flower beds and Hanzo looked at the trees but minutes passed and neither teen said a word until Jun pulled up her kimono in her hands and stepped off the stone path to the grass and followed along the side of the pond.

"Where are you going?" Hanzo asked as he followed along behind. "Have you found something?" He glanced down at a flower bed as he passed and noticed the blue dragons scurrying around his feet before bounding forward into a small bush with flowers beginning to bloom.

"I like this one." Jun said softly and pointed to a large bud that had yet to bloom on the same stem as a flower that was beginning to open.

"Then let's pick it and be gone." Hanzo reached out to pluck the blooming flower with his right hand but Jun grabbed his hand and stopped him with her left hand.

"Don't pick it!" She said quickly, pulling his hand back, her fingers firm on the side of his hand, her thumb sliding between his ring finger and his pinkie, her palm grazing his as she lifted his fingers from the petals. "If you pick it now, it will never bloom!"

"But we are supposed to bring a flower back to the Nakodo?" Hanzo told her, looking down at the flower, "We can choose a different bud if you like?"

"Did she say to pick the flower and bring it back? Or to choose one?" She asked, looking up at him. "I'd rather not pick any of them, they live longer that way...They die to soon if taken." Hanzo looked up and thought to himself about the Match Makers words.

"The Nakodo said 'I want you two to decide one a single flower out in the garden together and return to this room, together, not separate'... Huh..." He blinked, "I suppose we don't have to actually bring the flower back to her, but." He went to point with his hand and realized Jun was still holding it delicately in her own as she looked up at him. He flinched and Jun dropped his hand as Genji stuck his head between them and grinned up at them, first at Jun and then Hanzo. "I don't know the name of the flower!" Hanzo said quickly and looked away, fighting his embarrassment.

"She simply said to choose one together, she didn't say we had to report on it when we went back." Jun added as Genji looked back at her, his wide happy grin making her smile in return. "I would say we followed her directions, now let's head back and get the rest of this meeting over with." She sighed and turned to walk away when a furry creature jumped from the bush and ran around her and Hanzo's feet, a bright red cord wrapping around their ankles before it ran around the side of the pond to the other side and jumped on a small stone statue and watched the two teenagers get their wits.

Hanzo recognized it as the fox that had brought the flower to the match maker, noting the same markings around its ears and face before it jumped from the statue and was gone. When Hanzo looked down at his feet he sighed in annoyance, the cord was wrapped several times and clumsily around not only his foot but Jun's as well.

"Hold still," Hanzo told her, kneeling and trying to find the end of the cord around Jun's feet, he managed to untangle her left leg but found it to be tied tight around her right ankle as if done by hands. "I can't get it to come untied!" He snapped, finally giving up and focusing on his own feet, finding that his right foot came untangled easily but his left foot was like Jun's, the cord tied tight into a knot he couldn't get undone by his hands. "Genji, do you have your knife?"

"No, father made me leave it with the body guards, said it was not in good faith with the gods to bring weapons to a match maker." Genji said with a sigh, seeming a bit upset.

"Then we will simply have to leave it until an adult can cut us free." He stood and gathered some of the cord in his hand, and Jun did the same but Hanzo took it gently from her, wrapping it around his hand. "At least there is quite a bit of it, our walking won't be hindered." He held out his free hand to Jun and helped her as she stepped over the cord and walked to his left side so that the cord was between them but not stretched long, Hanzo holding the slack of the cord in his left hand as the three made their way back to the match makers office.

When they reached the doorway, the adults quietened themselves without prompt. Hanzo and Genji's father giving Genji a stern look as he ducked back into the room and took his place in the original spot, grinning from ear to ear happily. Hanzo helped Jun climb the steps with him, afraid the cord would snag and maker her fall and once inside the adults gasped, making them look up in shock.

"Gekko-O..." The match maker whispered and brought her fan to her mouth as Hanzo's father and mother exchanged an odd glance-a mixture of happiness and perhaps fear? While Jun's parents merely looked confused. "Well," The matchmaker chuckled behind her fan. "Gekko-O WAS impatient for this union." She closed her fan when she composed herself and used it to point to the red cord that tied Hanzo to Jun. "Gekko-O is the god of marriage and when two lovers are meant to be he ties a red cord around their feet to symbolize their connection. It is tied to tight for you to take off with your hands is it not?" Hanzo looked to his left hand that had the red cord wrapped around it.

"Yes, we need someone to cut it off." He asked, looking up at Jun and then the match maker.

"You may cut the cord young prince but the bond has been set by the gods." She chuckled and nodded to a passing man and waved for him to proceed. He reached down and took Jun's ankle in his large hand and started to cut the cord but Hanzo noticed how uncomfortable she was.

"I'll do it." He said and gently took the knife from the man after the Match Maker smiled. He leaned down and slid the knife flat against Jun's skin under the cord and turned it, the cord snapping easily against the razor-sharp edge before rubbing her ankle where the cord had been to make sure he hadn't accidently cut her before cutting it away from his own foot.

"So, tell me, how did you manage to become entangled?" The match maker asked as Hanzo returned the knife to the man and each teen went back to their original place by their parents, their mood vastly different than when they had left. Hanzo, Jun and Genji recounted the tale, each telling their part as the adults listened, and when it came time for the part of the flower the match maker stood and came to sit between Hanzo and Jun as the lord's daughter described the flower bud. "That is my blue peony plant," She smiled at them. "Peony's are a wonder, and they can bloom during winter if given proper treatment." She placed her hands on her lap neatly. "It takes patience, care and more importantly time..." She glanced to Jun and locked eyes with her before guiding the girls look to Hanzo who was keeping his gaze lowered until she referenced him indirectly. "Much like thawing a frozen heart." She watched as the teens eyes locked and then dropped to their laps.

"But peonies are not just beautiful and resilient, they also hold a lot of meaning...do you know what a peony stands for in the flower language Hanzo? Jun?" She watched as both teenagers shook their heads gently. "Honor, especially for people who are bringing honor to their entire family through success...Wealth and riches. But most importantly for the two of you: Romance and romantic love, with a particular focus on love between two strangers..." She eyed them both as a slight pink to the cheeks betrayed their thoughts. "Beauty in all forms. Even bashfulness and shame of one's nakedness be it of the soul or physical form." This intensified the blush and both teens eyed the floor in front of them silently.

"Why didn't you pick the flower and bring it to me?" She asked Hanzo, as if she had been there to see it all.

"I asked him not to." Jun said quickly as Hanzo lifted his head to answer.

"Oh? And why is that?" The match maker chuckled as the two mothers smiled at her.

"Flowers never last long once their picked, and the one we had agreed on had yet to bloom...it would never bloom if we had taken it..." Jun explained, slowly lifting her head.

"Much like a young love cannot grow if plucked and thrown away like an unwanted weed no?" The match maker laughed at Jun's annoyed expression, she was getting tired of the meeting and the way the woman seemed to know everything in advance to use in her favor. "So, what is your opinion of one another now, after your little adventure?" The matchmaker asked, looking from Jun to Hanzo.

"She is unrefined." Hanzo said quickly, closing his eyes. "She is brash and has a temper. Very unattractive in a wife."

"He is conceded and narrow minded, and soft in his training. A wife should not be able to put her husband into a hold and make him submit in defeat so easily." Jun snapped at Hanzo who flinched and pressed his lips into a hard line as Hanzo's parents' eyes widened and looked to their son in shock.

"She is hard headed and stubborn!" Hanzo snapped back quickly, his head lifting to reveal the pink in his cheeks.

"As if you are so different!" Jun snapped back. She saw Genji poke his head around Hanzo's shoulder. "You act without much thought of anything going on around you or the consequences of what your actions might bring!"

"I was the one who tried to untangle us to keep us from falling, how is that not thinking ahead!" Hanzo snapped getting to his feet as Jun rose to meet him, standing inches away from one another they continued to snap at one another, pointing out each other's flaws until everyone in the room chuckled warmly.

"I believe," Hanzo's father smiled as his son whirled to look at him, eyes wide at the sound. "This is a blessed match." He bowed to Jun's father who returned the gesture.

"I agree." The man chuckled, a warm smile on his face. "Given the proper time and care, it will bloom into a fruitful love." Jun and Hanzo stared at one another as the match maker stood and clapped her hands twice.

"Then it has been decided by both the parents and Gekko-O that Hanzo Shimada and Jun Hashira are a blessed match, and will wed at the age of eighteen." She bowed deeply as everyone else rose and bowed in return. "May your bonds of love be everlasting children." She chuckled as Jun turned her back to Hanzo and closed her eyes.

"I will never love him!"

"On that we can agree!" Hanzo snapped, turning his back to her and crossing his arms. "I will never love her!"


	2. Close Call

Two years had passed since Hanzo had seen the Nakado and been told he was fated to marry a young woman by the god Gekko-O, who sent a fox to tie their legs together with a red cord. Two years of scheduled meetings and appearances to both families at both estates for each season. Spring, Summer, Winter, Fall, there was not a time that Hanzo hated more than the coming of the new season, for it meant that his short time of solitude and peace was at an end-his bride would be coming to visit him in his home to spend time together. It was an attempt by their families and the Nakado to 'help nourish and grow the love between them', but instead resulted in many arguments and scolding's because neither wanted much to do with the other.

It was early spring when the mornings were still cool and wet but the days were pleasant and sunny. The day had worn on and the sun was beginning to make its long descent over the Shimada estate, lighting the garden below Hanzo in the bright but sweet light. Had he been alone he would have found tranquility and peace in this stillness and silence, but there was a thorn in his side and it was annoying him. She was sitting silently enough in the garden below, a small scroll in hand as she read it over, but just her very presence annoyed him.

Her only movement since he had left had been to replace the scroll in her hand from the pile beside her, reading over the material slowly as if she was being thorough. He had left the training ground some time ago, taking his bow and quiver with him as he and Genji climbed to the roof of what was Hanzo's part of the estate. Each brother had their own section of rooms: bedroom, bathhouse, and a tea room for receiving private guests to entertain away from the distractions. They were on the roof of Hanzo's tea room, looking down to the training ground/garden area he had made for himself. There were archery targets scattered all around the garden in places both visible and hidden in bushes and trees, flowers of all kinds brightening the grounds like a large bouquet.

Genji was lying on his stomach beside him, watching her too in silence, he had finished his training some time ago and had become bored waiting for Hanzo to finish, taking to walking alone tree branches and tops of walls until Hanzo couldn't take having her behind him. He had gathered his things and silently lead his little brother up the secret footholds they had made in the room and scurried onto the roof to sit.

"What are we doing Onee-chan?" Genji finally asked, looking up at Hanzo who was scowling at Jun's back.

"Just wanted to get away from her for a while, she's been there the entire time." Hanzo sighed heavily, his grip on his bow tightening.

"Do you really hate her so much?" Genji asked softly, looking back down to the young woman, she was turned sideways, her soft grey kimono complimenting her dark hair as she rolled up the scroll and put it down on her right side, reaching down and picking up another one.

"It is not that I hate her in such a simple way Genji." Hanzo tried to explain, looking at her as she untied the string around the paper and opened it gently. "She annoys me, and knowing I will be putting up with her for the rest of my natural born days, annoys me more."

"But," Genji pulled himself up and sat with his legs crossed, putting his hands in his lap. "You say I annoy you, and you love me don't you Onee-chan?" His little face looked hurt as Hanzo stiffened and jerked to look at his eleven-year-old brother, dressed in shinobi training clothes.

"Of course I do Genji," Hanzo reached over and pat Genji's dark hair, rubbing it gently. "You are precious to me Otouto." (younger brother). He smiled as Genji's face brightened. "The way you annoy me comes from a bond we share, she and I have no such bond so it is different. This annoyance does not stem from love."

"Does everything she does annoy you?" Genji asked as Hanzo took his hand back, running it up the string on his bow.

"Not everything," Hanzo said absentmindedly and then snapped. "But most."

"I think she is looking for you," Genji said with a small laugh, pointing down to Jun as she looked up from her scroll and laid it down her in her lap. She was looking around, turning herself so she could glance around the whole garden before slowly getting to her feet. "We should scare her." Genji giggled, "How often do we get a chance to scare Jun-chan?"

Hanzo thought silently as he watched Jun look around the garden again, this time a little more slowly, leaning this way and that to try and see around structures as if Hanzo was hiding from her behind them. He glanced down to the bow in his hands and smiled mischievously at Genji who gasped as he watched his older brother draw an arrow from his quiver and knock it without a word. His dark eyes watched carefully like a hunter stalking its prey as she started turning in small sections until she came full circle, her hands coming up to rest against her chest as the wind blew softly.

He raised the bow and drew the arrow back slowly, mounting the tension in his arm from the strong string and watched as she started to walk away. His intention was to place the arrow directly where she had been sitting, between the two stacks of scrolls, he felt the string pull tight in his fingers as he pulled it back full force and waited. She took two steps away from the pile of scrolls and he let the string slip from his grasp, the arrow shooting forth true to its aim as it sped toward the ground.

But Hanzo had not counted on Jun going back to the scroll pile to pick up the scroll she had last put down, putting her head in the path of the arrow as she kneeled to retrieve the paper. He heard Genji suck in a large gasp, unable to move.

"Jun!" Hanzo shouted, almost in a terrified scream. It was as if the gods had slowed down time, Jun looked up and turned slightly to face the house seeing the arrow flying toward her, but as it came close to strike it vanished and Hanzo found himself gripping the edge of the roof in his hands, having scrambled from his perch at the peak of the roof, bow falling to the ground and clattering with the only sound in the garden. Hanzo blinked, unsure of what had just happened, but he saw Jun still knelt on the ground, one hand on the scroll pile, the other holding the arrow near the metal tip off to her side.

"Jun-chan are you okay?" Genji yelled, running and dropping from the roof as Hanzo swallowed hard and stared, the young black haired girl standing slowly and spinning the arrow in her hand.

"I'm am alright Shimada Genji-dono." She said coolly, looking at the rotating tip in her hand as she spun it slowly, her hazel eyes slowly moved up to look at Hanzo. "Would you be so kind as to fetch Shimada Hanzo-dono's bow for me?" She asked as Genji landed hard on his feet on the ground, Hanzo pushed himself back from the edge of the roof and sat on his knees, slightly shook from the event. He could see Genji jog out from the side of the roof and hand her the bow, she still staring at Hanzo she knocked the arrow and pulled it back. "I shall return it to him." She said loud enough for Hanzo to hear but not quite a shout as she took aim for the eldest Shimada and then adjusted upward before releasing the arrow quickly.

Hanzo followed the arrow as it arched through the air and sunk into the roof just in front of him, between his knees and stuck. Hanzo licked his lips and tried to steady his breathing when he jerked involuntarily- startled as his bow landed by the edge of the roof. Hanzo reached down and removed the arrow from the room and stared at it, then he heard Genji gasp and he slid toward the edge of the roof, using the hand that held the arrow he grabbed up his bow and used the other hand to swing himself down to the covered walkway under the roof before turning to see Genji holding Jun's hand up in his own, the one that had caught the arrow.

"Jun-chan your bleeding! You got cut!"

"Its just a little scratch Shimada-dono-"

"I keep telling you to call me Genji! Please~!" Genji whined, pouting and crossing his arms as he looked at the hand, she took it from him and closed her fist, cradling it against her chest.

"My apologies, Genji-san." Jun smiled, "It is only a scratch, I don't think it will even bleed that much." But she kept her fist closed and against her chest as Hanzo jogged over to them. "Perhaps training would run a little more fluidly if the other participant was aware of their role?" She asked slyly, looking up at Hanzo as he walked closer. Over the two years Hanzo had grown out just as the Nakado had predicted; although they started out at equal height and build, Hanzo towered over Jun by nearly a head and a half and his stature had broadened out into that of a young man whereas Jun had stayed soft and somewhat small. A few inches grown here and there around her body had shown the tell-tale signs of maturity ahead, giving her the body of a young woman on the blossom of adulthood.

"It was meant to be a harmless prank," he said as he put away the arrow in his quiver and strapped his bow across his back. "Let me see your hand."

"Really Shimada-dono I am-"

"I said let me see!" Hanzo snapped, reaching for her hand as she pulled away, his hand clamped around her wrist and he pulled it forcibly from her chest and out to him but she kept her first clenched so the wound was concealed. "Open your hand." He snapped, trying to control his temper.

"I said I'm fine Shimada-dono there really is no need in getting-" She stopped speaking as he tried to force open her hand with his own, "This would be a lot simpler if you would just say please!" She snapped, making Hanzo stop and blink in confusion. Genji was standing between them, looking at them as they stared at one another. "Rather than...order..." Jun added, a little embarrassed that she had somewhat shouted at him, she averted her eyes as her cheeks tinted slightly pink.

"I..." Hanzo eased up on her hand, his grip becoming soft rather than deadly. "I'm sorry, your right." He looked down at her hand. "Please, let me see your wound." He looked back up and hoped she would see that he was sincere with the apology. Very slowly she opened her palm and showed him the cut, it started on the side of her hand and sliced inward toward the space between her thumb and fingers. "Let's get this cleaned and make sure it is not as bad as it looks."

"Father is going to kill us if he finds out we hurt Jun-chan..." Genji said softly, his face full of fear and dread. "If the servants get the medical kit or the doctor then they will have to report it, father!"

"Your right..." Hanzo sucked his teeth and looked back into this tea room, "Come inside, I'll clean it myself. Genji," He looked down at his little brother who smiled brightly, eager to do his part. "Go get a pitcher of water and a towel, then bring it back here and wet it for me so I can clean the blood away if anyone asks its for me to clean up after training."

"Hai!" Genji turned on his heel and ran toward the bathhouse, leaving Hanzo and Jun alone. It wasn't often they were ever truly alone, there was always a relative or a servant somewhere nearby. Hanzo gently pulled on her hand, leading her into the tea room.

"Come inside, before someone sees." He didn't take her all the way into the team room but stopped on the walkway that stretched around most of the house. He urged her to kneel in front of him as he sat on his knees, heels under him. "It doesn't look to be bad, but the blood worries me." He removed his bow and quiver, sitting them beside them before he took her injured hand in both of his, his large hands engulfing it almost completely. He tilted her hand this way and that gently, his calloused fingers touching her soft skin gingerly. "Looks like a clean cut, and not very deep...it was lucky you were able to stop it, I thought...I thought I had killed you." His voice got soft at the end with guilt.

"You startled me when you yelled," Jun replied softly in return, her eyes watching his hands. "You...you called me by my name..." Hanzo froze, his eyes going wide in realization, he had indeed called her informally in fear of her being struck with the arrow.

"I-I'm sorry," Hanzo said quickly, his heart picking up in speed as he felt his cheeks and ears slightly warm up. "I was-I was afraid you were going to be killed by my foolishness, I did not intend to offend you with informality."

"N-No," Jun shook her head. "I think..." She cleared her throat and neither of them could bring themselves to look the other in the eyes. "Since, we are to...wed in two years that perhaps it is time for us to begin speaking to one another...a little less formally..." She took in a breath and looked out into the garden. "Unless you would rather not of course."

"No," Hanzo said a little too quickly, squeezing her hand and making her look at him. "I think you are right," he eased up on her hand as she winced a little, realizing he was hurting her again. "Jun..." The sound of her name she looked up, eyes locking with Hanzo's. "How did you catch that arrow?" She blinked and looked away as Genji came running up with a pitcher of water and a white towel, he doused the towel in water before sitting down the pitcher and wringing it out. "Jun." Hanzo urged but she closed her eyes instead, staying silent.

"Here Onee-chan!" Genji said eagerly and put the towel on Jun's outstretched hand. "How bad does it hurt Jun-chan?" He knelt beside her and watched her face as Hanzo picked up the towel and began dabbing her cut gently with it wrapped around two of his fingers.

"It stings a little, but it is no worse than a knife cut Genji-san." She smiled at him and opened her eyes, wincing a little as Hanzo applied pressure with the cloth. "It will be more annoying than anything."

"We should wrap it," Hanzo announced when he was satisfied with the cleanliness of the cut. "To keep it from getting dirty." He looked around for a moment before he eyed the white hair tie that held his long hair together at the ends. "Here." He pulled it loose and his long black locks separated, "I'll use this as a bandage." He turned her hand palm down and began wrapping it snugly, tying the ends off in a small bow when he was done so it rested on the top of her hand, using this hand wouldn't cause the bow to come loose.

"Hanzo." Jun's voice speaking his name so informally and with such tenderness made his heart skip a beat, then another when she smiled at him. "Thank you, if anyone asks, I cut myself with a knife." Genji watched in silence as the two teens started to avoid eye contact again, Jun taking her hand from Hanzo and laying it in her lap, her undamaged hand on top t hide the bandage. There was a moment of silence before Hanzo narrowed his eyes and spoke softly, his tone hard and pressing.

"How often do you cut yourself with a knife that this is a believable excuse..." Genji looked at his brother in confusion and Jun looked up to lock eyes with the young prince. "You're a lord's daughter. You don't cook or clean, you don't hunt or skin animals. Why would you ever hold a knife?" Jun didn't answer but a small, knowing smile crept across her face that made Hanzo tense, he didn't like this smile. It wasn't warm or tender the way her smile had been when she thanked him or when she was reading, it was cold and cruel.

"You are both young princes'," She said simply, sighing after a moment. "You two probably know better than anyone what it is like to grow up a target." She closed her eyes as Genji looked at her with the same confused look. "You know of the Adachi clan?" She asked, opening her eyes and staring at Hanzo who looked to Genji and motioned for him to go to the doors.

"This is family business talk Genji, go back to training," Hanzo told him, but Genji whined and crossed his arms.

"I'm big enough to hear about the family business onee-chan!"

"Genji." Hanzo's tone held a warning and his eyes a threat, Genji pouted at Jun who gave him a pleading look to do as he was told. "Jun isn't going anywhere, we will come to the dojo and watch you when we are done talking." Genji looked back at Hanzo and then cast them both curious and suspicious looks.

"You two want to kiss don't you?" He accused, making Hanzo's face flush a bright red and Jun to burst into laughter. "I wanna see!"

"GENJI!" Hanzo snapped, starting to climb to his feet when the younger Shimada jumped to his feet and ran to the door, flinging it open and running down the hall after closing it with a slam of the sliding paper doors. "Untactful little..." Hanzo's face was still red as he seated himself back onto his heels and knees. "What about the Adachi clan?" He asked, trying to fight the blush down with deep breaths and closing his eyes.

"You know they seek a higher position in the spiral do you not?" Jun's voice was low and tense. Hanzo took another deep breath and nodded, feeling the heat leave his face as he focused on the conversation and not who was speaking. "They wish to see my clan destroyed so that they may take their...my...place." She opened her eyes and focused on her knees. "Ever since I was a child I've been targeted by the Adachi clan and a few of their allies within the spiral. I've lost count of the times I'd been a target for abductions and assassination attempts..." She looked up at Hanzo who was still sitting with his eyes closed. "You being even higher than I in position, I assume you are no stranger to these threats. You or your brother."

"Several attempts in my lifetime, but none have come close. Genji is being kept innocent from the family business until it is his time to take a wife when he has completed his training..." Hanzo explained, his voice also low in case a servant happened to pass by or hear. "So he has no idea of the attempts that have been made on his life."

"I was abducted as a child," Jun told him, looking up and watching as his dark eyes flew open in shock. "I was to be executed, my corpse sent to the Shimizu clan as proof. My father can't bear any more children and without an heir to continue on the Hashira blood, my clan would have been hunted down and killed to keep the secrets safe..." Her face was stoic and emotionless as if she was commenting on tea or the weather outside. "But I was rescued by a shinobi hired by my father, he is now my Sensei...Harashi-Sensei teaches me self-defense techniques so that I may defend myself if something should arise before my clan can send help. To ensure the line of my clan..." She reached up and moved the collar of her kimono to the side, showing more of her skin making Hanzo cover his eyes with one hand.

"That's highly inappropriate!" Hanzo snapped, turning his gaze to the training grounds outside as she laughed.

"You are to be my husband Hanzo, I think you can manage to look at my shoulder."

"That makes it worse!" He snapped, whisper-yelling as he closed his eyes and tried to not imagine her bare shoulder peeking out around the folds of fabric. "I'm not supposed to see your body until the night of our wedding, have some dignity!"

"Then do not think of me as your wife!" She whisper yelled back. "Think of me as a fellow warrior and look at my shoulder alone, do not look at my face!"

Hanzo struggled with himself fiercely, part of him was curious what was on her shoulder that she wanted to show him but part of him was very much aware she was a female baring her body to him. Not only that but she was to be his bride in two years time, it was considered scandalous to show skin when unmarried. He swallowed hard and tried to calm his racing heart, the heat rising in his cheeks again.

"I can't." He said after a moment, "I'm sorry, but I can't bring myself to break my code of honor and...look at you."

"Stubborn man!" She snapped, he could hear the rustle of her kimono and heard her stand and walk away from him. Very slowly he put down his hand and opened his eyes, he was torn-part of him was glad he had, part of him wished he hadn't. Jun had her back to him, standing a few feet away but her kimono was hanging off her shoulders, the material gathered in her elbows as she adjusted the fabrics to put back into place. Both her shoulders were bare, light markings of scars and burn marks across her back.

"What happened to you..." Hanzo asked softly, making her jerk and look at him over her left shoulder, her face pink with blush.

"I didn't say I was ready for you to look!" She snapped and hurriedly replaced the kimono back over her shoulders, gripping the material around her neck to hide her skin from him.

"You didn't tell me you weren't ready! I thought you had gone further inside or out into the garden!" Hanzo snapped back, his heart pounding hard in his chest as he looked away. A few tense moments of silence passed as each teen tried to calm themselves down and reason with the situation-it was an accident, a miscommunication-that didn't count as scandalous right? "You never answered..." Hanzo said after she had fixed herself and went further inside the tea room to sit at the little table that was in the center. "How did you get those scars?"

"Torture...some of it is from training." She answered softly, looking down at the tea set on the table before she moved to start making some for them both. "When I got captured they wanted me to tell them what I knew..." Hanzo stood and listened, watching as she went through the motions of making tea, effortless and absent-minded. "I knew very little but I wasn't about to sell out my family for them to just hurry up and kill me, so I kept silent." She put her hands down, letting the tea sit for a moment before pouring them both a cup. "They didn't like that very much, so they took to cutting me up with knives and blades and burning me with hot pokers to try and scare me into telling them what I knew."

"And you never faltered..." Hanzo said softly, thinking back to the scars on her back.

"I love my family," She said firmly, pouring the second cup of tea gently, being careful with the pot. "My duty is to my family, and I will perform my duties as they are expected of me. Although I do not agree with some of the archaic traditions."

Hanzo sat opposite her and took the cup she offered him, thanking her softly before taking a drink, he knew that some of the clans in the spiral (a collection of powerful yakuza families across Japan) were prone to actions such as these to try and lift their clan up the spiral's hierarchy line. Taking out whole clans and recruiting those who worked for the clan so that they may advance closer to what was called 'the center', the most powerful houses were in 'the center' and had hands in many places from politics, trade goods, and military assets.

The Shimada clan was close to the center, Hanzo was the heir to his father's place near the center of the spiral and Jun would have been the Hashira clan heir further out of the spiral, but because of their marriage the clans would become one and the Hashira clan would advance. Which of course was a threat to lower standing clans, increasing the strength and numbers of the Shimada clan, and any offspring that they would have together would become heirs for both the Shimada clan and the Hashira clan. The Shimizu clan was near the very center and even more influential than the Shimada clan, everyone apart of the spiral considered them to be the head of the beast. A corpse being delivered was a message of clan's destruction and a change in pecking order within the spiral.

"So to answer your question it is not an odd occurrence for me to cut myself with a knife or form a new bruise here and there." Jun said softly, putting down her empty cup and refilling it with tea. "Hirashi-sensei spares me no kindness in training, I am applied with his male students and receive no special treatment." She smiled as she lifted the cup. "Which is how I came to put you in a submissive hold the day we met." She chuckled as Hanzo put his cup down on the table, his face scrunching up in annoyance.

"As I said that day, I let down my guard, it will not happen twice." Hanzo said quickly, watching as she refilled his cup. "I have taken my training more seriously..." When the cup was full he lifted it and took a drink before sitting it down on the table. "I couldn't imagine the fear being abducted as a child must have been...I am determined to keep Genji safe from such a fate..." He looked up at Jun as she sat down her cup and put her hands on the edge of the table. "And I will protect you as well," This made her lift her eyes and look at him curiously. "You will be my wife, and I will not allow anyone to harm my family...no matter how much they annoy me." This made Jun laugh until he continued. "So you will not need to continue your own training." Her laughter died in her throat and her smile was replaced by an angry scowl.

"Excuse me?" She snapped angrily, making Hanzo tilt his head to the side. "You think you can stop me from training?"

"You will have no need in it, I will protect you." Hanzo said with a 'matter-of-fact' tone that made Jun's scowl deepen and she growled. "I won't have you harmed, you caught that arrow as well as I would have-which means your Sensei has trained you in catch and fire, one wrong move in training and you could die that way, I won't allow it!" His voice was growing in volume until the end when he was outright shouting at her, his hands clenched into fists on his knees, eyes locked on hers to show he was serious about stopping her from endangering herself anymore.

"Without the training I would have died today thanks to you!" She shot back, making them both feel regret-she regretted saying it out loud and Hanzo regretted allowing himself to make a foolish mistake as to pull a prank with a deadly weapon. They looked away from one another for a few moments, each trying to calm down. "You do not get to make that decision for me Archer..." She put her hands on the table and looked at him as he slowly turned his head to look at her, his dark eyes flowing from spot to spot on her face. "I will continue, if you like it or not." She shook her head and stood as he sighed.

"We shall see once we are wed." His tone sounding as if he knew that she would change her mind once their bond was cemented by a priest.

"Again you assume that you own me like property!" She turned as Hanzo got up halfway, kneeling and watching as she went to the door and opened it. "Other women in our time may submit willingly to their owners, but I will not bow so easily! I have no owner!" She turned toward him, her arms shaking at her side in rage. "I was right, a marriage to you is damnation." She stepped through the doors and slid them shut quickly behind her in a slam before stomping off down the hall in a huff leaving Hanzo growling to himself before punching the table with his fist.


	3. The Valley Lilly

Fall was beautiful at the Hashira estate; the entire estate was awash with the color of warm fire. Trees and flowers bloomed in brilliant shades of red, orange, yellow, and splashes of green from foliage not yet changed to fit its peers.

Two young women walked along the stone path, one dressed in fall colors, their hair done up similarly with flower ornaments. They laughed together happily, arms linked as they strolled slowly through the garden, a bond of friendship clear between them. Jun was dressed in a white kimono with red and black designs in the shape of flowers and petals with a high obi and an orange flower in her hair, pulled back away from her face but in a relaxed style.

A twang of a bow, however, stopped her short and her laughter died with the crunch of a leaf underfoot. A look of shock was short lived as it gave way to annoyance, Jun's face scrunching up as another twang sounded, the other girl searching for its source.

"Honestly," Jun snapped, turning her head to see a young man reach for another arrow in the quiver on his back, knocking the arrow and pulling back the string as he took careful aim. The top half of his clothes were shrugged off and hanging by his sides, his skin bare to the elements. His back was to the girls, his shoulders tensing with the pull of the string working against him as he held the arrow at the ready until he was sure of his aim. "Does he do more than practice? Perhaps the bow should be his bride." Jun watched as the arrow found its home on the target, splitting it in half.

"Is that him then?" The girl asked hanging on Jun's arm. "What did you say his name was?"

"Hanzo Shimada." Jun hissed with heat. "My future husband, should this sham of a marriage go through." She rolled her eyes as Hanzo smiled at the target he destroyed, then down to his hands as he flexed them.

"I thought you liked the elder Shimada? Was it not the younger one you disliked?" her friend asked, cocking a brow and smirking. She had long brown hair and dark eyes that framed her face nicely, making it seem round but firm. "Or is it you are simply jealous of the amount of time he spends in training?"

"Just watch," Jun smiled sadly, and gently removed Keiko's hand from her arm and walked closer to the archer as her friend followed along at a distance to be able to hear clearly. "I trust everything has been to your liking Hanzo-san?" She called out, approaching gently, so not to startle him. Hanzo turned quickly and pulled his Kimono's top in place as fast as he could without messing up, his face flushing with embarrassment. "I see you are getting in your mid-day training, are you done?"

"I split the target in half," Hanzo gestured to the round target several feet away, "If I was not done, I am now." He adjusted the fabric of his kimono and looked to her. "The fall colors are quite lovely here in your home." He looked up to the trees and bushes around them when there was a rustling, Hanzo had just laid eyes on the blushing Keiko who was inching closer when a flash of white and orange dropped from the tree above with a loud 'rawr!', making Hanzo drop his bow and throw his arm up around Jun defensively who seemed amused, but un-phased.

"Well, well," Jun smirked as Hanzo dropped his arm, realizing in his haste that he had wrapped it around her waist to attempt to shield her with his own body, but she hadn't moved, "If it isn't my favorite Shimada brother." She smiled happily as Genji laid back on the ground cackling happily, glad his prank had worked. "How are you Genji-chan?" He was dressed in shinobi attire, painfully obvious that he had taken advantage of the lesser known surroundings to ditch his teacher and come in search of his brother.

"Ane-chan!" Genji beamed and jumped to his feet, wrapping her in an informal hug that shocked Hanzo and Keiko, as Jun wrapped the younger boy in a gentle hug, the tips of her fingers rubbing his shoulders softly. He was quickly catching up to her in height, a few seasons ago she had towered over him, but slowly Genji had caught up, and now stood evenly against her. "I've missed you!"

"An honor to meet you both," Keiko greeted. "Shimada-dono, I beg you to take care of my friend, she is rather rough and tumble. Perhaps her marriage to you will open her up to the tender ways of womanhood." She looked up and smiled as Hanzo scoffed, his back straightening as he walked away.

"I doubt anything will change her ways." He walked stiffly as if insulted, going over to the destroyed target to retrieve his arrows and replace them in his quiver.

"We will simply see in time," Jun closed her eyes and squeezed Genji's hands before releasing them, sensing the tension radiating from Hanzo at the target. "It is nearly time for our families to gather, would you all like to walk together?" She asked, knowing that if they were to arrive together, it would take some of the heat from her mother off her back. It was not but an hour or so ago, Jun's mother had scolded her for not spending enough time with Hanzo, taking to Keiko's company instead. If she showed up without him, her mother would call her back to the room once everyone had taken their leave and demand to know why she was avoiding him.

"I would love to!" Genji beamed happily, then seemed to remember his place and coughed nervously. "Unless, you would like me to take Keiko-chan, and you and Onii-chan can go together. I know how our parents like to see you two spend time together? They might leave you two alone more, if you go together…" He got louder as he spoke so his brother, who was standing idly in front of the target, rotating an arrow in his hand and inspecting the tip. At the mention of pleasing their parents, and being left to their own deceives by going to this one gathering together Hanzo's interested was peeked.

"Keiko, do not get him lost." Jun laughed, bowing a little less formally than Hanzo, "They will be in the tea room, our mothers set up lunch with tea there for a moment of relaxation for us all. Insufferable though it may be." Jun sighed, closing her eyes and trying to not groan at the thought of the two hours of awkward silence between the seven of them, food and drink never lasting quite that long. She had not missed though, the slight nods and the look of dread on Genji's face. He was an excitable boy, and could never sit still for the entire time, often sneaking off when everyone was busy to continue his training or cause general mischief somewhere in the estate.

Even Hanzo seemed to dread the time in question, averting his eyes and a slow breath causing his shoulders to rise and fall. Although he was less excitable, even a calm and peaceful man like Hanzo didn't like the awkward silence and forced tranquility time between the two families.

"I will not lose your precious Shimada brother," Keiko laughed, turning away and narrowing her eyes playfully, "But I will not promise that he won't feel like spending more time with me than you when we get there!" She laughed as Genji put his hands on his hips and smiled, taking it as a challenge.

"I'm rather fond of Ane-chan! You are in for quite a battle!" He lifted one hand and gestured for Keiko to walk with him as they began walking away, side by side, talking happily. As the two got further away, Jun started to follow, but stopped short when she felt a tug on her sleeve. She looked to make sure she had not snagged on a low hanging branch when she realized it was Hanzo's hand.

"It has been some time ago, but…" He swallowed as Jun turned to face him, her face a little shocked. "Please," He stressed the word, trying to show her he was not prone to making the same mistakes as before. "May I see your hand? The one…I injured." A dark look of guilt crossed his face as his eyes traveled down her kimono sleeve to where her hand hid inside the fabric.

"Oh, Hanzo," Jun chuckled and lifted her kimono sleeve, pulling it back so her hand was shown. "It has fully healed some time ago, I have complete use of it again." She turned her hand over to show him the scar that ran along her hand where she had caught the arrow he had shot at her as a prank during the spring. It was completely healed, and barely visible unless you knew to search for the start of the scar on the side of her hand. Hanzo took her hand gently in both of his, touching along the scar with the tips of his fingers, his eyes followed along but reflected his thoughts without masking them. He was feeling guilty and sad still, although it had felt like a lifetime ago when it had happened at his home.

"Jun I am so sorry." He said with a sigh, curling her hand up gently and placing his left hand on top, holding her hand between his. "I never should have tried to pull such a mindless prank. I will never forgive myself for harming you."

"Hanzo, I'm fine." Jun smiled, removing her hand from between his and patting them gently with her hands. "It was just a scratch."

"I could have killed you." He snapped, but the anger was directed at himself, and she knew this.

"But you didn't." She snapped back with a soft shake of her head. "And you've beaten yourself up over it long enough." She pointed at his nose with her index finger on her injured hand. "I forbid you to feel guilty over this any longer."

"You forbid me?" Hanzo blinked, shocked that she was speaking in a commanding way. Though the tone in her voice he had grown used to, her manner of speaking shocked him. She didn't like the idea of slaves and ownership over another person, and forbidding another from doing something was on the top of her list of things that annoyed her.

"I do." She smiled and pulled her hand back. "You didn't mean to hurt me, and I know that. I will admit, I was angry with you at first." She put her hand back in her kimono sleeve and looked down the path Genji and Keiko had traveled. "But I have watched you, you feel this guilt eating at you, every time you look at me. You can't continue on this way for the rest of our lives." She turned her back to him. "I have already forgiven you Hanzo, it's time for you to forgive yourself."

"But," Hanzo started to argue but Jun turned her head to glare at him, stunning him into silence.

"I told you. I have forgiven you, but this ongoing trip of guilt you give yourself is about to spark my anger once more." She smirked at him, turning halfway back to him as he stepped closer slowly. "Have you forgotten what it is like when you test my anger? You may have outgrown me archer, but do not assume that I slack in my training." This made Hanzo chuckle, she was always so confident in her ability to take him on in battle. And to be honest, though Hanzo would never in any shape or form admit to it, she could probably cause him a lot of trouble taking down. This was no idle boasting—she was no slouch in her training, and despite their argument about it back in the spring at his home, she had continued to learn with her master, and had continued to grow.

"How could I forget, when you use every opportunity to remind me?" He chuckled and stood by her side. He glanced back at the destroyed target. "But do not presume, Jun, that I have taken my own training lightly." He looked at her and watched her eyes glance from him, to the target, to him again. "I have only gotten stronger, and will continue to do so."

"I hope so," Jun smiled, walking along the path slowly at her own pace, her sandals making soft noises against the stones. "You have promised that I would not need to apply my training to defend myself or for your brother to defend himself." For just a moment, Hanzo felt a little pride swell in his chest. This was an odd compliment coming from her. "And I would hate to have to save not only myself but Genji-chan as well. How would he look to his Onii-chan then I wonder? When he is saved by a woman?"

There it was, the overconfident aspect of her personality that part of Hanzo wanted to throw his hands up in annoyance and part of him want to laugh. Never had he met another woman who had the confidence that Jun had, certainly not in her ability to defend herself. Most women he had met were pinning for some man to take care of them, make them comfortable and protect them. Not Jun Hashira. She would do complain about it not being done right, then take over for any man and show him how it was to be done properly.

Part of Hanzo admired that about her. The ability to stand on her own to feet and have confidence about it, certainly was a relief to him, as he didn't need to coddle her with anything. She could keep herself occupied, out of trouble, and solve most problems without the need of a decision coming from him or anyone else. However, sometimes it lead to problems when her and Hanzo's opinions differed, often ending in fights and arguments that had them both stomping from the room and one another's presence.

"Hanzo?" Jun sounded concerned, looking up at him with her brow furrowed, one hand reaching out to touch his chest. "Are you alright? Is there something wrong?"

"No," Hanzo shook his head and kept walking, brushing her off. "Just trying to imagine what it would be like if you were more like your friend said, womanly." He smirked at her as her face flushed pink to match her kimono's color. "What you have in battle prowess you lack in feminine charm. To see you be delicate and feminine would be odd, to say the least."

"Ha!" Jun scoffed, looking away as they approached the house. "You would be too inexperienced and naïve to know what to do." She hid her mouth with her right sleeve, still looking away as Hanzo blushed brightly and narrowed his eyes at her. "So I will keep my more feminine side hidden away, perhaps one day when you are truly a man you will witness it."

"That could be taken one of two ways," Hanzo snapped, raising one dark brow. "Either," He crossed his arms, closing his eyes as Jun looked at him warily, the smile slowly falling from her face. "You have already shown this 'feminine side' to another man and do not wish to show it to me." He could hear the small breath being taken in by her, he had just accused her of having a lover in secret. "Or," his lips slowly curled into a smirk as he opened his dark eyes a crack to look at her. "You are simply trying to buy yourself time, because you have spent to much time training with the men to know how to please them."

"How dare you!" Jun snapped, her face flushed brightly pink once more at the teasing. This made Hanzo snicker, holding one hand up in front of his mouth to hide his growing smile. Jun stammered, unsure of how to retort, when finally she pressed her lips together firmly and looked ahead, making Hanzo's snicker to grow into a soft chuckle. They had reached the house now and were climbing the steps when a few servants came running past, looking frantic. "What is going on?" Jun asked as a servant paused to look at Jun and bow.

"Please stay here ma'am!" The servant girl turned on her heel and took off after the group that had left her behind, going toward the inside of the estate. Jun and Hanzo didn't need to exchange any looks or give one another any sign to follow after the servant silently. Hanzo didn't know the lay out of the estate quite well yet, but he had a feeling he knew where they would end up. Jun came to an abrupt stop by an open door and waved Hanzo on as he stopped for only a second to see her step inside the room and run to fetch a sword from its place on an alter. Hanzo sped up and reached the end of the hallway, spotting the female servant going into a large room as Jun's father came stumbling out, holding his mouth.

Hanzo ran over and helped Daiki to stand, looking up and into the room he had exited to feel fear and horror claim his gut. There was blood splattered all over the floor and Jun's mother was lying on the floor on her stomach, her face and clothes covered in blood. Hanzo's eyes widened as servants were gathering up the tea set and foods that had been laid out, throwing them into sacks and removing them from the room quickly, trying to not step in or fall in the blood.

"Wh-" Hanzo started to speak but Jun's father held up a hand to stop him.

"Do not let Jun see Hanzo." His voice was grim and grief stricken. "She will do something reckless, please, do not let her see her mother like this." Before Hanzo could agree, he heard Jun's quick steps thundering down the hall. Jun's father pulled himself somewhat to his feet and stumbled back into the room to kneel by his wife's corpse, sobbing hard as he used his hand to wipe away a lock of her hair from her face. Hanzo felt his blood turn to ice in his veins as he stood and put his hands on the sliding doors to shut them as Jun appeared at his side, sword attached to her hip, hand gripping the hilt tightly.

"Hanzo what is—" She turned just as he slammed the doors shut in her face, only a glimpse of her father cradling her mothers limp form being seen before Hanzo pulled her into a tight embrace and kept her from trying to open the doors. He had her arms pinned down to her side as he practically crushed her in his arms. "H-Hanzo?" Her voice cracked and Hanzo's heart cracked with it.

"Don't look." He begged as she struggled against him fiercely, managing to free her arms from him, but he put one hand on the back of her head and pressed her against him again. "Please, don't look." He tucked her head under his chin and made her rest against his chest so that she could not see when more servants made their way into the room. "You shouldn't have to see that."

"What. Happened." She snapped, a sob trying to choke its way from her throat. He buried his face in her hair, trying to not think about what was happening on the other side of the door. Trying to block out the sobs from the room. "Hanzo. What happened."

"I don't know." He answered, adjusting his hold on her so she looked away from the room, his hands straining to keep her against him. "Jun please. Don't look."

"Don't hide things from me Hanzo," Jun snapped, "What happened in the room. Why don't you want me to look.."

"I…" He didn't want to answer her, how could he?

"HANZO!" Genji's voice yelled from down the hall and it broke his concentration just enough for Jun to get loose from the archer, one of the doors flying open as she barreled through it, she thought herself mentally prepared for what was on the other side. But her father holding her mother and crying into her blood-soaked kimono was something she was not prepared for. The sword she had started to draw clattered to the floor seconds before her knees buckled, but strong arms kept her from sinking to the floor. Jun's father looked up as an ear splitting, guttural scream pierced the air, his daughter in shock as Hanzo kept her from sinking down into a puddle of her mother's blood.

Hanzo pulled her back to the doorframe as she lightly struggled, trying to crawl to her mother, but the elder Shimada held her fast. She clutched onto his left arm as he kneeled beside her, petting her hair and trying to make her look away. She was sobbing, tears falling and soaking Hanzo's sleeve as she buried her face into the bend of his arm, unable to stand the sight any longer. Hanzo covered her with himself, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her as close as he could, his face buried against her neck, his own eyes shut tight as he heard her sob into him, feeling her shake and gasp with the emotion racking her body.

"I'm sorry," he cried, tears falling from his clenched eyes as he squeezed her tighter. "I am so sorry."

~Some Time Later~

Hanzo sighed heavily, they had only just arrived, but he had wished they had never left the Hashira estate since the attack. It had been an elaborate assassination attempt that had gone wrong, claiming only Jun's mother Saiyuri. A poisonous plant called The Valley Lilly had been crushed and mixed in with the tea that was supposed to be served for that day's lunch. Saiyuri had brewed a little to test it out, to make sure it was a good fit. It had been such a large dose in the tea, it had caused her to have convulsions and begin vomiting blood until she died of her internal wounds.

After the initial clean up and disposal of the tainted food and drink, Daiki had asked the Shimada's to take their leave earlier than expected, so that he could deal with his wife's funeral arrangements, refusing help from Hanzo's father and Hanzo as well. The young archer had not wanted to leave Jun alone after seeing her mother, it had destroyed her. It was hours later that she had cried all her tears and still she would not separate from him, clinging to him as if for life until the family doctor insisted on taking a look at everyone to make sure no one had come in indirect contact with the poison used. Since then, he had not seen her, even when they made their leave, she had not come to see him off and he wasn't given the time to track her down and check on her.

He was trying hard to remember his manners as his family entered the estate at what seemed the pace of an injured snail, his father and mother a few steps in front of him and Genji beside him, who looked like he could be sick in his formal wake kimono. Hanzo was glancing around nervously, trying hard to spot any sign of Jun or perhaps Keiko or Daiki. He was so busy looking however, he didn't hear his father speaking to him, and wouldn't have noticed if Genji had not elbowed him and gave him a shocked look and nodded to their father.

"I apologize father," Hanzo sighed, stopping behind his father who turned to look at him sadly. "My mind is elsewhere. I am worried about Jun. I have not seen or heard from her since that day." He went back to searching the grounds. "I sent her a letter while we were away to ask how she was, and if there was anything we could do…but she never replied to it." He sighed heavily, closing his eyes as Genji agreed.

"Yes, I sent her a letter or two, but she did not write to me either." Genji put his hand on Hanzo's shoulder. "But I am sure Ane-chan is just going through her mourning process. She will be in good physical health, I am sure of it." Genji tried his best to smile, but Hanzo could read his little brother like an open book. He was just as worried about Jun as Hanzo was, but had been trying much harder to hide it.

"I would say," Hanzo's father spoke gently, reaching out to touch his son's other shoulder as Genji removed his hand and fidgeted with a string on his kimono. "That Jun-san has been busy with helping her father with the arrangements. And has wanted some time to herself, this was her mother she lost after all. One could not blame her for wanting to be left along to mourn for a while." Hanzo looked down to his feet as his father removed his hand. "Come with us to the room of the wake, if Jun is not there, and Hashira-san agrees, then you can go in search of her to show her your support."

"It is touching my son." Hanzo's mother smiled gently, making the Shimada men look up to her. "That you worry for her so much, your heart has grown tender toward her, and it is nice to see." She reached out and cupped his cheek, her thumb rubbing a spot gently. "I believe she will be happy to see you, if her father had not asked us to take our leave, I do not think she would have separated from you at all." Hanzo smiled softly, glad he had been able to be of some sort of comfort for her, even if it was little more than a pillow.

"I just want to make sure she is ok." He took in a deep breath as his mother removed her hand. "Her father was afraid she would do something reckless, and I fear it too." He followed along as his parents started walking again, a little more quickly this time as other mourners past them. Each heartbeat in Hanzo's chest made his anxiety grow, Is this what is like to be Genji? He thought idly as he glanced to his brother, who was fidgeting constantly with a piece of fabric from his Kimono, a string loose on the end that he was wrapping around his finger and unwrapping when he got to the end. To feel this nervousness, and desire to run away? I will not scold him for vanishing again if this is the torture he endures in silence.

Up the steps and inside the house, step by step, beat by beat, Hanzo thought he would go insane. Still no sign of Jun, just teary-eyed mourners dressed in blacks, whites and greys, nodding as they passed to or from the room of the wake. He took to flexing his hands and counting out his breaths, thinking about the sound of waves, trying to keep himself calm. They made it to the room and his parents paused for only a moment before exchanging a sad look, Hanzo's father wrapping his arm around his mother's shoulder and pulling her closer as they walked past. The door was sealed shut, boards had been hammered across it to cover up the room and prevent entry, Genji's head dipped between his shoulders as he looked from the boards to Hanzo who was staring not so much at the boards, but the floor just in front of what had been the door. Where he had held Jun and tried to console her as she bellowed and sobbed in anguish until she fell silent, unable to cry or scream anymore.

They passed a few more rooms, open to allow mourners to walk about. Genji and Hanzo looked in the rooms as they passed, but no sign of her. When they finally made it to the room of the wake, Hanzo felt his stomach lurch. Daiki was at his proper place near the alter, looking stone faced and somber. There was a futon just behind him, ice packed away in bags and a white sheet over the body of Saiyuri. Genji swallowed hard, his hand finding the corner of Hanzo's sleeve, gripping it tightly. He hated funerals, they made him uncomfortable. The Shimada family came closer and whispers started humming through the air, other mourners left the room or averted their gaze from the brothers as they kneeled and bowed to Daiki.

"Lord Shimada, Lady Shimada." Daiki bowed, his voice hoarse and soft as he sigh heavily. "I apologize for sending you away with such rudeness before. I just did not wish to—"

"There is no need in apologizes my friend." Hanzo's father pat Daiki's shoulder. "You were worried for everyone's safety, even in the chaos that was your wife's murder. It was the right thing to do, and I would have done the same." Daiki looked up, his eyes red and sunken into his face, he looked tired. "I only wish there was something my family could do to help you through this difficult time." Daiki nodded and looked to Hanzo, a very small smile tipping the corners of his mouth upward.

"Hanzo," Daiki's voice made him look up from his knees, pushing the whispers of some nearby mourners. "Thank you for all you have done, for being there for Jun." Hanzo blinked, his eyes searching around behind Daiki for just a second to try and find her. "She was shocked to receive a letter from you, it made her happy." This made Genji turn to look at Hanzo with surprise. "She was not sure how to respond, and your letters made her cry too Genji-san," Daiki smiled at Genji who pointed to himself and then looked down at his knees shyly. "Tears of joy I assure you. I think it healed her a little to know there were people who cared enough to check on her…no one else has bothered to check on her…" He sighed heavily and rubbed his eyes with one of his hands, it was slightly shaking and Hanzo wondered if Daiki had been asleep anytime since the incident.

"I…" Hanzo spoke out of turn, making his parents and Daiki look at him. "I have not seen her since we arrived…I…" He coughed into his hand and tried to steady his nerves, "I would like to check on her, do you know where she is?"

"Certainly," Daiki nodded, "She is out by the garden, feel free to make yourself at home, all of you." He looked to the sheet on the futon where his wife lay. "It is what she would have wanted. She adored you," He smiled at the sheet. "She so looked forward to your wedding to Jun," He reached out and touched the sheet softly, making Genji look away. "Go out that door." He nodded to the door they had come in. "And go to the right, you will come to the walkway that surrounds the estate, follow it to the right and you will find the side garden. It was where she was when I saw her last. If she is not there, have some servants help you track her down. While I think her reckless actions may be past, I would not put it past my daughter to run away."

"Yes sir." Hanzo bowed respectfully before he stood and left the room. He followed along with Daiki instructions, out the door—to the right. He glanced around the hall and open rooms as he passed, not wanting to pass her up if she had come inside from the chill. More mourners caught sight of him and began whispering but he ignored them, their words and stares didn't matter to him right now. He made it to the end of the hall and found the walkway, the moon was full and bright, lighting up the gated estate with glowing white light.

"Shimada-dono?" The unfamiliar voice caught his attention and sent him into alert. He turned and raised his fists to defend himself but was shocked to find Keiko crying softly. "It is you!" She wiped her eyes with the palms of her hands. "Please, follow me. Jun-chan is this way…" she gestured to the left behind her.

"Is she ok?" Hanzo asked, his tone taking on a hint of anger. "Why are you crying?"

"She refuses to speak," Keiko covered her mouth with her hand, her pace quick as she led Hanzo around the edge of the house. "She hasn't spoken since the day Saiyuri-dono passed…She is worrying me Shimada-dono, she just sits and stares off into the distance. She barely sleeps, she must be coerced into eating and drinking, and even then it is such a small amount…I fear at this rate, she will simply waste away in front of us."

"I do not know what I was expecting…" Hanzo sighed as he followed her around the corner of the walkway. "Part of me I suppose was worried about this, and part of me was worried she would seek vengeance…"

"I think she would," Keiko spoke softly as she slowed her steps, looking ahead at something. Hanzo looked from Keiko to where she was looking, seeing Jun sitting stiffly, staring aimlessly out into the garden. "If we had any idea who it was that poisoned her…" Keiko wiped her eyes again, fresh tears falling. "I can't…I can't sit beside her as she just stares for much longer…but I do not want to leave her alone for long, I fear she might take her life…I was on my way to get her father—"

"I will stay with her," Hanzo said grimly, his eyes never leaving her face. She held no emotion in her face, her lips resting easily in a slight frown. "go, get some rest. I will see if I can be of any aid." He walked toward Jun and while he was sure she heard him, she did not bother to look and see who was approaching, which was very unlike her. "Jun…Its me…" He stopped about a foot away, watching as she breathed softly through her nose, "Your father said you received my letter…and Genji's…" He stepped closer, but her only movement was a slow and tired blink. "May I sit with you?" He asked, tilting his head and stepping even closer.

She didn't answer, not even a nod or shake of her head. Hanzo waited for a moment longer before sitting near her. He looked out into the garden with her, silently as they sat together. After some time passed, Hanzo turned to look at her and studied her face. She hadn't been sleeping, or if she had, it wasn't well, or enough. She wasn't wearing any make up, and Hanzo was surprised to see that her hair was just laying straight around her shoulders instead of done in some decorative style.

"I was worried about you." Hanzo admitted, looking down to her hands as they lay softly in her lap, limp and forgotten. "Keiko says you haven't spoken. And that you are not taking care of yourself." He watched her chest rise and fall with a heavy breath. "Jun you have to take care of yourself," He turned slightly toward her. "You need to eat, and drink…Have you been sleeping at all?" He watched her but she never changed, her eyes never faltered from their endless stare straight ahead into the garden. "I'm willing to make a guess that what little bit you have been sleeping has not been adequate…" He blinked and felt a little anger rise inside him. "Say something!" He snapped, grabbing her by the chin and making her look at him. "Look at me!" Hey sad, drooping eyes found his and he felt guilty for snapping at her. "Jun, I'm sorry." He let go of her chin and re-adjusted himself, so he was sitting on the edge of the walkway, his feet touching the ground. "I shouldn't have snapped at you, or put my hands on you, I just…" He sighed and covered his eyes with one hand.

"I've been so worried about you, when you wouldn't answer my letter I feared you were going to seek revenge on the clan responsible for your mother's death. I know how you get when you are angry, you seek to destroy the source…" He let his hands sit on the edge of the wood, gripping it tightly. "But while you are safe, this is not better by any means…You are wasting away. She wouldn't have wanted that." He smacked the wood with the palm of his left hand. "Genji doesn't want that…" He bit the inside of his cheek and closed his eyes. "I don't want that. I want you to be healthy. I want you to take care of yourself." He heard movement and opened his eyes, shocked to see that she had joined him in sitting n the edge of the walkway, her legs hanging down and touching the ground as well, her hands laying softly on the wood.

"I promised to protect you, from anyone that would cause you harm." He looked at her as she stared down at her bare feet. "That includes from yourself. Jun I do not want to, so please do not force me to take care of you for yourself." She lifted her head, locks of black hair falling in her face as she looked at him sadly. He reached up and moved her hair away from her face, tucking it behind her ear. "Because I will, if it comes to that." He put his hand down as he looked away, back out into the garden. "You don't have to speak until you are ready. I am not asking you to act as if nothing has happened, gods know I wouldn't know how to act if I was to loose my mother like this…but all I am asking is that you start to take care of yourself again…for yourself, for your mothers memory…for those that care about you. Your Father, my parents, my brother…"

"Hanzo…" Her voice was barely audible, dry and cracking. Hanzo felt something touch his hand, he looked down to see that she was reaching out with her pinkie finger, barely touching Hanzo's with the tip. Hanzo lifted his pinkie and wrapped it around hers, curling his finger so that he held hers gently.

"Yes…for me too." He nodded and studied their hands, how small hers was compared to his. How cold she felt in the fall air, her thin funeral kimono doing little to keep her warm, how thin and frail her hand seemed, as if the strength had been pulled from it by force. "Please Jun." He felt his throat grow tight, he took in a deep breath before looking up at her, realizing that she had been watching him the entire time he had been studying her hand. "I beg you."

Heavy moments of silence passed as they looked at one another sadly. Hanzo could see the fatigue in her eyes, the sadness in her face, the tracks where tears had fallen down her cheeks. He started to reach up with his free hand when Jun closed her eyes and laid her head against his shoulder, the stiffness in her posture seeming to melt away as she relaxed against him. She seemed like a wilting plant leaning against a tree or rock for support, the touch shocked Hanzo into staring out into the garden, his face flushing with heat. Only his mother had ever been this close before, but never in a position such as this.

"Okay," Her voice seemed strained, but from past abuse of screaming or thick with tears Hanzo could not tell. "You win Hanzo…" Hanzo gulped and moved a little closer to her, letting go of her pinkie to reach up and stroke her hair his free hand reaching over and taking her abanded hand in his free one and cupping it gently in his lap. They sat there for some time more, just resting against one another in their own way until they would have to face the outside world.


	4. Beware the Thorns

"Hold," Hanzo's voice was soft, "Hold," He repeated, adjusting her aim very slightly, feeling the tension in her arms as she held the string back. "Careful of your arm, or you'll get a bruise." He reminded her, adjusting her hand gently on the bow. "Now, release!" He stepped back as Jun released the bowstring, the arrow launching quickly and finding the center of the target, sticking securely. "Very good."

"Ha!" She laughed triumphantly, looking down at her hands. "I hit it!"

"Indeed, you are a fast learner." Hanzo complimented, taking the bow from her and knocking an arrow of his own and taking aim, quickly and surely setting the arrow into the target inches from Jun's. "But still have much to learn." He looked to her and noted her sly look, one brow slightly rising as she pulled back the sleeves of her training clothes so that her arms were free to move more easily.

"With a teacher as skilled as you, it should not take me long to catch up." She reached for the bow but Hanzo did not let go of it easily, taunting her with his superior arm strength as she tried to pry it from his hands and failed. "Laugh at me now Shimada, but I will get better!"

"I should hope so!" Hanzo teased, "What would it say of my abilities if I could not teach even you?" He laughed as she tried to pull it from his grasp, but only succeeded in pulling herself toward him in the frozen earth of the garden grass, making him laugh heartily.

"I admit, I see now why you spend so much time with a bow in your hand." She scrunched up her face, not really wanting to admit that, but doing so in a show of good faith and trust in her husband to be. It was the last half of Hanzo's seventieth year and the beginning of her's. "It shows in your sureness of hand, and the quickness of your aim." She smiled at him as he released the bow and gave it to her without anymore teasing, drawing an arrow from his quiver and twirling it around so he could tap the end of her nose with the feathered end.

"I've spent much of my life with a bow in my hands," He tilted her chin up with the arrows end, "So that I can protect my family." He hadn't meant to make it sound the way it did, his voice seemed to have an effect on Jun now, her cheeks darkening with a slight pink blush; her eyes darting away from his quickly.

"You should just kiss and get it over with already." a light voice from above sighed, Hanzo glared up into the tree and quickly spotted Genji grinning down at them, nearly blended in with the leaves and branches. "Hello, Hanzo, Jun-chan." Genji greeted as Jun followed Hanzo's line of sight and smiled when she saw the younger Shimada smile down at her and wave.

"Genji!" Jun scolded, "You are going to fall out of those trees one of these days with your sneaking around!" The younger Shimada rolled his eyes and laid across a branch, propping his head up on his arms.

"While I don't think you will fall," Hanzo added, narrowing his eyes at his brother. "You really should cease spying on me."

"I'm not spying on you," Genji said flatly, his face blank as he swung his feet idly. "I'm spying on Jun-chan."

"Genji~" Hanzo warned as his younger brother broke into a childlike grin.

"I would like to not be spied on Genji-kun." Jun smiled, rolling down her sleeves as Genji pouted down playfully at her.

"But I like to spy on you, it's fun. I don't want to miss it when Hanzo finally mans up and makes his move-you missed an excellent chance by the way." Genji pulled his foot away as Hanzo grabbed for it, trying to pull his brother down from his perch.

"How about you do something even more fun, Harashi-sensei should be with Father and Lord Shimada, why don't you see if you can sneak up on him? I bet you can't!" Jun teased, winking up at Genji who scratched his cheek and thought it over. "If you can, he might put you through some advanced training, it might keep you better occupied." A few moments of silence as Genji looked from Jun to Hanzo with narrowed eyes.

"Hm...I really don't think Hanzo has it in him yet..."

"We aren't supposed to kiss until our wedding!" Hanzo snapped, his cheeks flushing pink. "It's improper!"

"Yeah, he's not going to." Genji laughed as Hanzo swiped at him again and got to his feet like an agile cat, moving along the branch quickly and with sure footing. As quickly as he was found, he was gone, leaving Hanzo and Jun alone and embarrassed. When the branches stopped shaking and they were sure he was gone, they glanced at one another and looked away quickly, unable to look one another in the eye as the thought of the approaching wedding came to their minds.

"Speaking...of the wedding." Hanzo murmured, clearing his throat and pulling his shoulders back as Jun glanced at him. "H-have you decided when you would like to have it? The season, I mean."

"Oh, I had...uh..." Jun turned her back to him and walked to the target, pulling the arrows free. "I had thought about, spring...when the flowers are all in bloom." Hanzo glanced down at the ground, noting the frost that had started to thaw away. "If that is acceptable-"

"I like it." Hanzo smiled, thinking about the gardens at the temple where their ceremony was to take place. "Spring it is." He walked over and took the arrows from her, placing them in the quiver and watching as she blew hot air onto her hands to warm them, the tip of her nose turning pink with the chill. "How about we take a break for some hot tea?" He asked, tapping the tip of her nose with his finger, making her blink.

"That sounds wonderful, I like the peacefulness that winter brings, but I could do without the cold." Jun smiled, touching her nose with the tips of her fingers. Hanzo felt his heart swell a little at her smile, she had been doing it more lately but it never ceased to make his heart pick up in speed. He shrugged off his coat off and slipped it over her shoulders.

"Cold would not be an issue if you would wear a coat like you are supposed to." Hanzo scolded gently, turning and leading the way back to his home, their shoes crunched on leftover snow from the latest storm.

"It is difficult enough as it is with these long sleeves to shoot your bow," Jun countered, shaking her hands out in front of her to emphasize her point as the kimono and coat sleeves waved in front of her. "I suppose that is why you always run about with your sleeves shrugged off, so you don't have to worry about it getting in the way. Funny," She chuckled as Hanzo helped her climb up on the walkway attached to his tea room. "I used to think that you did it to get attention-or to infuriate me-but now I see it was practical."

Hanzo's cheeks flushed again as he stepped up onto the walkway and hurried into his tea room, leaving Jun chuckling as she followed along. She sat beside Hanzo as a servant brought in the tea set and began making tea for the two.

"Have you any desires for the ceremony?" Jun asked, putting her hands on her lap. Hanzo blinked, his embarrassment forgotten temporarily. "Any flowers or special requests?" Hanzo looked up into the ceiling of the room and mused silently for a moment.

"Peonies..." He mumbled after a moment. His voice just a whisper, making Jun lean in more closely. "Peonies." He said a little more loudly, "I would like to see Peonies at our ceremony." This made Jun smile softly as Hanzo handed her a cup. "I thought that might please you."

"What color?"

"Blue, and purple if they can be found." Hanzo inspected his own cup, "Do you remember why?"

"The plant was blue," Jun nodded, but looked a little lost, "Why purple?"

"The color of your kimono when we met." Hanzo waved away the servant who peeked up slyly with a small smile, he took the teapot and poured for her, "Did you think I forgot?"

"After a meeting as..." She searched for the word, "Remarkable? Strained?...haha," She laughed as Hanzo poured for himself now, his smile relaxed and comforting. This was a side that Hanzo was still discovering, the slow lowering of his walls. "Unforgettable as our first meeting, I don't think I will forget a single detail."

They sat in silence for a while, enjoying one another's company as they drank their tea. During their early teenage years, the silence had been heavy and forced-a silence that prompted both to run in the opposite direction for freedom. Now, however, it was the solitude that they both sought when annoyed and disgruntled. It was toward the other they were drawn when their hearts and minds were heavy. They had grown to rely on each other, since the day of Jun's mothers funeral, and spent as much time together as possible when in company.

Some time had passed when there was a call from the door, it was the rest of the assorted family, come to take part in the company and discuss the upcoming wedding. Genji sat beside Jun, across from Hanzo as the two elders sat at respective corners. The talk was pleasant and without much bother when there was a shriek from the hall setting the three younger fighters on edge.

Hanzo got to his feet and Genji drew a short blade from a hidden sheath on his body, getting to his feet and running to the door, grabbing and tossing Hanzo his bow and quiver when he came to where the servant had placed them. Jun crouched and reached out to Hanzo, she had no weapon on her or in the room as it was prohibited for her to have them outside her training sessions due to her status and gender. Hanzo shook his head and strung a bow as their fathers waited silently, then the door opened to a snickering servant who tried to compose herself.

"Forgive us, Masters-," She bowed to Genji and then again to the others in the room, "Mistress, there was a rather large spider that spooked Ai and she couldn't help but yell out, please do not worry." Genji cast a look to Hanzo, shrugging one shoulder as Hanzo lowered his bow, the elder Shimada looked to their father who chuckled and shook his head.

"Women and their arbitrary fears." This earned a chuckle from Jun's father as the boys lowered their weapons and Jun settled back into her seat, the annoyance at the comment by her future father in law blocking out the battle ready edge brought on by fear. She reached for her teacup when she felt a drop of liquid on her head, like a raindrop. It made her shiver, she put her hand on top of her head and drew the attention of the men in the room. Hanzo picked up a napkin from the table and tried to give it to Jun when she felt another. She looked up and gasped when she saw the pool of red liquid staining and seeping through the mats that covered the ceiling.

Hanzo followed her gaze and heard a creaking as more droplets fell into Jun's face, she yelled in shock and got to her feet, wiping it away with her hands as the ceiling gave way and several bodies dropped into the room. Hanzo grabbed Jun by the waist and pulled her from out under the men dropping from the ceiling, yelling for guards as the room flew into action.

The men that dropped from the ceiling were dressed in greys and blacks, their heads covered with hoods and their feet bound in the same shoes. They looked like the same man multiplied by five. A sixth body fell too, one that sent shivers of fear through Jun and then anger like she had not felt before. Harashi's body lay in a heap, his throat slit wide and blood soaking his clothes.

"You have your orders!" One of the copies yelled, drawing a blade from his hip, the others doing the same.

Hanzo stepped in front of Jun and drew his bow, taking aim at the closet man, Genji had already crossed blades with one of the copies keeping him occupied. Jun tried for the small dagger Hanzo kept on his back in case of such a situation but he moved away to block an attack directed to Jun.

"Genji! Blade!" Jun yelled as he forced his opponent to drop his blade by using his own to twist it out of his grasp. Genji grabbed the hilt and threw it Jun's direction, not fearing for hitting her. Jun caught the blade by its hilt, whipping it around and charging past Hanzo as he turned, shooting three arrows into the back of a man trying to follow after his father and Daiki as they made their way to the door where guards were beginning to file in.

The remaining three attackers fanned out, trying to dodge between the three teens to head off the two older men. The men were running side by side, deflecting attacks to protect one another as they closed the distance to their targets. When they were within striking distance, Jun's father shoved Lord Shimada out of the room and slammed the door closed as he was ran through by the three attacking blades.

"Father!" Genji yelled as he saw Lord Shimada disappear out the door.

"Genji! No!" Hanzo yelled and followed after his brother as the younger shimada rushed to the door, the intruders turning and brandishing their bloody weapons.

Jun watched as her father sank to the floor, one of the blades had pierced his heart and he faded quicker than she could get to him. When she reached his side, oblivious to the fact they turned their attention solely on Genji as she turned her father over onto his back. Hanzo and Genji struggled to keep back the three attackers as they turned more ferocious but less deadly. When they had Genji surrounded, Hanzo tried to disperse them with arrow attacks but they were rendered useless with simple blocks by the blades of two while the third hit Genji in the back of the head with the hilt of their blade.

"GENJI!" Hanzo and Jun screamed in unison as he slumped into the arms of one of the attackers, Jun jumped to her feet and rushed to help Hanzo as he rushed after two of the murderers as they ran to the walkway outside the room. Jun tackled the slowest of the men and knocked him to the ground, pinning him under her as she drew the blade and pressed it to his throat.

"Name!" She demanded, the man under her laughed as she heard Hanzo's panicked call for his brother in the garden. "Give me the name!" She cursed and cut the mans neck threateningly.

"May the world crumble and burn around you, orphan." The man cursed as he pulled a small pick like knife from his belt and stabbed her in the side with it repeatedly making her howl in pain, which prompted Hanzo to run back to the room. "Die as a no-one!" He cursed and Jun stabbed him, plunging the knife into his throat and gagging as he chuckled once more, sending Jun into a git of rage. Cursing without thought she removed the knife and stabbed the deadman's chest over and over in fury, the helplessness she felt turning to rage.

It wasn't until Hanzo's father had returned to the room and witnessed Jun stabbing a fresh corpse repeatedly that Hanzo was able to remove the blade from Jun's hand and pull her into an embrace and calm her from her rage into one of despair for her loss of her father, and the kidnapping of Genji. Hanzo looked to his father for guidance, for some sort of sign that he surely would know what to do next to retrieve his little brother. But the elder Shimada's face was hard to read as his old and tired eyes scanned the room and took in the corpses.

"We must," The older man took in a long, deep breath before sighing heavily, "Make new arrangements."


	5. The Wilting Sasanqua

Hanzo gave Jun a squeeze, hearing her hiss in pain as she pulled away and put her hand on the pick knife, attempting to pull it out when he stopped her. Lord Shimada shouted for servants to hurry to them and to fetch the family physician, but he made no move to help the young lovers.

"Don't," Hanzo warned, helping her lay down on her side, so she was slightly more comfortable. "It could cause you to lose more blood to quickly before the doctor arrives. I know it is cruel, but please leave it until they tell us to remove it."

"Are you," Jun grunted as Hanzo took her wrists in one of his hands and kept it clear of the knife so she wouldn't try again. "Are you injured?"

"No," Hanzo answered and put his head to hers as she yelled out in pain, having taken a deeper breath in relief. "Be still Jun and breathe light, I promise we will have it out soon."

"Hanzo," Lord Shimada's voice was calm and collected, making both teens look up at him in search for guidance. "We must make arrangements and begin planning to retrieve Genji."

"Yes," Hanzo's eyes seemed to cloud with hatred, his hold on Jun's hands tightened slightly, he looked up and found a male servant came near with cleaning supplies to begin cleaning up the blood. "I want Jun moved to my private room," Hanzo instructed, "I do not want her here, unprotected." The servant's head bobbed, and he got to his feet clumsily.

"Hanzo we haven't the time—" His father began with an irritated growl which unleashed a fury inside Hanzo he had never felt before.

"Haven't the time!" Hanzo repeated in a furious shout, trying to get to his feet but Jun held onto his arm and kept him kneeling beside her, despite the pain and the blood soaking her clothing more. "We haven't the time to spare to make sure no more tragedy befalls us? Mother is away visiting family, she is safe enough but Jun has been attacked, Genji stolen away and Lord Hashira lies dead a few feet away…yet we haven't the TIME?"

"Hanzo," Jun's voice was light, pleading as he pulled on the coat he still wore, "Please,"

"Do you wish your brother death!" Lord Shimada bellowed angrily, storming over to stand in front of his son who looked away, turning to help Jun lay back down gently on her side.

"You know I do not!" Hanzo snapped, pushing away Jun's hair from her face with a caress that left her whimpering in pain. "But my bride is injured, she is vulnerable. She needs protecting while we devise our strategy. What time shall it consume to have her moved to a new room, one more secure if nothing else than a sterile environment in which the doctor to work!"

A dark shadow crossed Lord Shimada's face as he looked down to Jun, she could see hatred in his dark eyes, a coldness that struck a familiar fear in her. Without further argument, Lord Shimada looked away and demanded of a nearby servant to have guards posted around the estate and a messenger sent to his wife's family to tell her to stay where she was and check on her condition. Hanzo closed his eyes, trying desperately not to be pulled in too many directions at once.

He wanted to run and track down where the attackers had fled with Genji, he wanted to kill them as vengeance for Jun's father and for her injuries. He wanted to stay by Jun's side, to see that she got the best care she could and that she did not face the recovery alone. He was furious with his father, he wanted to hurt him, but still, he felt like a child, needing his guidance.

"Hanzo," Jun pleaded, tightening her hold on his coat, pulling him from his thoughts. Seeing her with her face pale and her eyes wide with fear, glassy with tears—it destroyed his heart for the second time in his life.

"Yes Jun, I'm right here…" He kept her laying as she tried to sit up again, "Don't move too much, it will only make the wound worse…Where is that blasted man?" Hanzo growled, more with sorrow than anger as he looked toward the door. He heard her say something, but it was to faint, he started to get up and go to the door, but she seemed panicked. Clawing at his clothes to make him stay still.

"Hanzo no, please, stay with me." Her voice cracked, and tears streamed down her face. "I beg you, do not leave my side."

"You are safe," Hanzo assured her, putting his hands on hers as he kneeled beside her again. "There is no reason to fear, you will be alright, I will make sure of it."

"Then make sure by staying beside me," She hissed in pain and curled slightly against him, he choked down a sob that was rising in his throat. Closing his eyes, he turned his head away to compose himself when he felt her cold hand on his cheek, feeling like ice against his heated cheek.

"My darling husband," The words caused his heart to stutter and his eyes to open in shock, while they had grown tender toward one another enough to speak of their engagement, they have never exchanged any talk as sweet as what he had just heard. He put his hand on hers and used his free hand to cup the side of her face as he leaned down and pressed his head against hers. "Hanzo, I know," She was trembling under his touch, or perhaps it was he who trembled at her words. "It is not proper, but I beg you…I believe to have heard it from your heart…call me greedy, call me selfish…my fierce dragon…" Hanzo felt a tear leak from the corner of his eye and trail down his cheek. "If you love me, tell me true, by your words."

"Jun…" Hanzo grit his teeth together to keep him from breaking down fully, "Do not speak as if you will pass. The time will come when I tell you, my resilient peony, but I do not wish to soil it with the tragedy. It is meant to be said with tender happiness, not sorrowful tears. Rest for me, let the doctor fix you, and when all is right, I will shout my affections to the gods themselves from the tallest mountain to prove it to you."

"I do not wish to close my eyes," She sobbed, her mouth pressed into a hard but quivering line as tears poured from her eyes like rain from a cloud. "I fear when I open them again my lovely dream will end, and I will be punished with damnation."

"You and your damnation," Hanzo chuckled, a smile spreading across his face as his own tears fell on her face and mixed with hers. "Hear me, you will live. We will wed. And all will be well."

"My sweet blind prince…" She whispered, "I have blinded you to the cruel reality that is our way of life."

"The only thing to have blinded me was the beauty of your smile and your heart," Hanzo whispered back into her ear, nuzzling her gently before realizing she had gone still. He pulled back in worry to see that she had closed her eyes, passed out from loss of blood and pain. He rolled her onto her back and looked up to see the physician running inside the room finally with several servants in tow, carrying bags and towels and two a steaming bowl of water. Hanzo refused to leave her side, just as she had begged until the knife had been removed and her wound tended to.

It had been a hateful wound, but keeping the knife in proved to be the right call, she would need a lot of time to recover before she did anything strenuous, least she open the wound once more and make it easier to infect. She had not woken when the doctor patched her up, she had not woken when a stretcher was brought in, and she was moved into Hanzo's bedroom. When the servants had laid her down on Hanzo's unmade bed he sent them away, he wanted to be alone with her for a few precious moments but to have guards outside the room and an extra set to come and sit with her when he left.

All was quiet in the room now, aside from Jun's gentle breathing as he tucked her into his bed, careful not to make her too warm. When he was satisfied with the work, he kneeled beside her and observed her for a moment, thinking back to her words before she lost consciousness. _"My sweet blind prince…"_ She had whispered, only now she seemed much sadder to his ears _. "I have blinded you to the cruel reality that is our way of life."_

 _What did you mean by that Jun,_ Hanzo asked himself as he watched her sigh without waking. _What prompted you to say such things, now?_ He closed his eyes and saw the look in her eyes as she begged him to stay, the sadness in her tone as she didn't want to fall asleep. This was a strong woman who tried to let nothing, not even the brutal death of her mother, cause her to falter. The scars from past wounds on her back came to his mind and without much thought, more instinct, he realized her reaction was not from pain _. Fear._

Hanzo felt as if his heart had stopped in his chest, a cold wave of his own fear chilling him. _She was afraid of something, but of what? Genji's safety?_ He tilted his head in thought, closing his eyes to focus, shutting out her sleeping form in the light of the setting sun. _No. No, if she had been frightened for Genji, she would have tried to follow, wound or no wound. She was afraid of something else, something here._

He heard her whimper, and it made his eyes open quickly, scanning the room to see they were still alone, but her face was showing signs of agony and fear again. Hanzo reached over her and tucked her side back into place where she had come loose, as he moved to sit back in his spot, his eyes found her lips. A fleeting moment passed through him, the imagined feeling of his lips on hers. If he did, would it soothe her dreams? Would it pacify whatever fears tormented her? He felt guilt seep into his heart at denying her his simple confession. She had been terrified, very unusual for her and yet he did nothing to soothe her mind but talk, yet it had not been the words she had longed to hear. Slowly, ever so gently Hanzo leaned down closer, his lips parted in a small breath as he stopped just short of Jun's mouth.

 _No._ He thought, pulling himself back and sighing heavily as he slowly stood and backed away. _It would not be right to steal her first kiss while she slept. Whatever her fears, I will tell her when she wakes up, and if she will have it, I will ask for it to make up for my foolishness._ He stopped by the open door, seeing twice as many guards as he had ordered standing outside. They moved into positions around the room, and when Hanzo was satisfied, he left to see his father. 

Hanzo found Lord Shimada in the main houses tea room, talking over with several older men who Hanzo recognized as his father's personal guards. Hanzo waited patiently at the door until he was called in and the men dismissed before going to sit across from his father, his hands on his lap as he studied the wood in front of him. His lord father was quiet for a while before sighing heavily and rubbing his eyes with one hand.

"Hanzo." He began, but Hanzo bowed in respect and stunned his father into silence.

"Forgive me, Father," Hanzo asked softly. "I was in a heated state and meant not to disrespect you. I merely feared for my fiancée," He sat back up straight, eyes still lowered. "She is normally such a strong woman…to hear her beg and plead with such helplessness…I could not bear it." He touched the center of his chest, "It awakened something fierce in me…a protectiveness. I meant not to snap at you or question your authority."

"It is a good sign, my son." Lord Shimada's words were measured and cool, there was no pride behind the words. "But I am afraid of the effect that girl has had on you." Hanzo jerked his head up, looking into his father's reserved face. "It leads me to wonder, is this protectiveness…. this…. The fierce thing in you…for your wife to be….or solely for her."

"I do not understand." Hanzo furrowed his brow, "Jun is my betrothed…we had only but a few hours ago decided to be wed when the Spring season came?"

"Hanzo." Lord Shimada put two fingers to his own forehead and closed his eyes. "You used to have such a tactful mind…how blind she had made you my son. Without a mother and father, a child is no more than an orphan. An orphan, no matter their standing at first breath, has no land or assets…"

Sickness struck Hanzo with such ferocity that he jumped to his feet and swayed, his gut tightening to the point of ache. Lord Shimada was not looking at his son. Instead, he was looking down at a knot in the wood in front of him, much like his son had been taught to do.

"You mean to cast her away." Hanzo gasped when he found the words, it was as if some invisible specter was choking him, large hands wrapped around his neck, so he choked out each breath and word with difficulty. "To separate us…"

"Nonsense. She was a good woman if a little boorish." Lord Shimada looked up at his grief-stricken son with a blank face, "I will give her a place as a servant to keep my promise to her late father that we would care for her. Give her a roof to sleep under, clothes to wear and food to eat. But the engagement is through."

"I won't allow that," Hanzo snapped, his breath coming in heated inhales, as if any moment he would begin to breathe fire from his mouth like a dragon. "She has done nothing wrong—"

"She needn't do anything wrong, Hanzo." Lord Shimada corrected as his son paced back and forth angrily a few steps away. "It is the way society works. We would lose assets rather than have a gain. Good woman or not, Jun's father's estate and assets were lost to the wind when he died. They will be distributed to lower houses that were in his line of blood. Cousins and whatnot. She owns nothing, not even the clothes she sleeps in or the ornaments in her hair."

"You can't do this!" Hanzo shouted, clenching his hands into fists. "Please, father!"

"It has already been set into motion my son." Lord Shimada said with a hint of finality that made Hanzo jerk away and walk to the door before he slammed his fist into a wooden post and turned back to face his father, rage evident on his face as he stalked back like a hunter watching prey.

"I will not," Hanzo swore through clenched teeth. "marry another woman."

"You will do your duty to the clan." Lord Shimada demanded, slowly getting to his feet.

"MY DUTY IS TO Jun." Hanzo snarled, but when his father opened his mouth to shout, Hanzo interrupted him. "I LOVE HER," Hanzo shouted, pointing behind him to indicate Jun sleeping just a few rooms away. "She is the only woman I have willingly given my heart to, and I will not allow you to tear her from me!"

"I did not think you were capable of doing anything so foolish boy! Disobey me again, and I will have her executed in front of you!" Lord Shimada threatened which enraged Hanzo past the point of rational thought. He never would remember clearly what happened next, but when Hanzo came to his senses, his father laid on his back on the floor, lip bleeding. Hanzo's right hand hurt, and there was blood on his knuckles, but Hanzo's head and nose also hurt as well. It was as if he had walked into a wall like he did when he and Genji had played a game called 'lead,' where a blindfolded brother would lead the other around by verbal commands. As Lord Shimada brought himself to his elbows, he looked at his son with the first sign of genuine emotion that Hanzo had ever seen, and suddenly the look on Jun's face and her words made sense. "You were never supposed to fall in love with her."

She had figured out, more quickly than he, that Lord Shimada would be playing the political field with the turn of events. If Genji died, Hanzo would be the sole heir to the Shimada name, he would need to marry quickly and sire children to someone with assets that could help lift and grow the clan in Genji's possible absence. She had feared Hanzo leaving her side would bring about the doom of their matrimony before it had a chance to begin. The fear she had felt was the result of his own father.

"Threaten my woman with execution again, Lord." He spat the word and a little blood from his mouth with venom and hatred, "And see exactly what I am capable of." Hanzo glowered at his father in the floor before turning on his feet and running from the room back to his own part of the estate. He checked in on Jun quickly, relieved to see her still slumbering peacefully. He had to force himself o leave her there in his bed and walk himself to his own armory, where he dressed in tactical clothing in dark colors so that he could do what he needed to do quickly and without being seen to easily.

Hanzo had to force himself to not check on Jun again, fearing that he would lose his nerve and will to track down Genji's kidnappers. He knew that his father was not foolish enough to attack Jun while Hanzo was away trying to rescue Genji. Lord Shimada was an intelligent man and was used to playing all sides of the board at once. He would not risk Hanzo's wrath if he were to harm Jun, as it would not be beneficial to him in any shape or form.

Armed with his bow, arrows and extra string, Hanzo stopped outside his door and pressed his head against the thin wood. He vowed silently, wordlessly, to return to her. To give her whatever her heart desired of him. To hear him proclaim his love, tender kisses, an escape to a new life with him at her side. He would give her everything.


	6. The Young Lord Rebels

Again, I want to apologize to everyone for taking so long with this story, but trust me when I say I got a scene coming up that I hope that will make the wait entirely worth it. I couldn't believe the amount of blowing up my phone did once that last chapter was put up haha, it was great. Your comments are fantastic, and they make me feel amazing and make me want to wow you all even more, so I hope that's what I do with this one and the next few 😉

What light had been left of the fading afternoon had not been adequate for Hanzo to have tracked down the men that had attacked his family. He recounted the battle in his tearoom and retraced his steps out in the garden where he had chased them before they disappeared over one of the shorter walls that surrounded the estate. Yet when he searched clearing and the road that was half a mile from the wall, he saw nothing that could indicate in which direction they had fled, not in the fading light he hadn't anyway.

When the sun had set, and the light with which he had used to search was extinguished, he decided to retrace his steps again in the morning. Perhaps there was something he missed in his search for noticeable signs. He returned to his room to think and rest; however, it would have been a blatant lie to deny that he was worried that his father might try to remove Jun from his reach.

Yet when the servants slid the door open after announcing his arrival to the guards inside, he saw that she still slept in his bed. Turned on her uninjured side so that she was facing the door, she looked more peaceful than he had ever noticed before. He sent the guards outside, but when they hesitated, he felt more fatigued than angry.

"But young lord," One of them burly, scary looking men began to speak, he glanced to the two other men beside him for backup. The men nodded, "It is improper for the two of you to be left alone together before your marriage has been blessed the priest."

"I did not ask…" Hanzo sighed heavily, tilting his head back, "what was proper, or tradition." He felt the tension in his back and could hear the squirming the men were doing in their armor. "I gave a simple order, did I not? I am weary. I wish to rest. Tomorrow I join the search to hunt down the men responsible for the entire upheaval of my lifestyle." He slowly lowered his head until his chin reached his chest before rotating it right and left slowly so to ease the tension as it slowly spread up his back. "My brother has been kidnapped, the woman I love has been injured, yet here I am…without a single lead or clue as to who attacked us."

"I understand young lord," The man spoke again, "But your father."

The anger flared inside Hanzo once more, he felt strength return to his arms like snakes wrapping themselves around his limbs. He rolled his neck once more and looked over his shoulder, glaring with one eye at the trio of guards who remained kneeling behind him. The guards flinched at his gaze and shuffled back to the door when Hanzo spoke through his teeth, lips faintly moving, though he whispered for Jun's sleeping sake, his voice seemed to fill the room and their ears like the rumble of thunder—a storm about to strike.

"If my father has any complaints, he may bring them to me himself." Two of the guards got to their feet and bowed at the waist before turning and fleeing down the hall, the last trembling on his knees. "Feel free to deliver my message to him." The guard bowed before getting to his feet and taking his leave without any more complaints or concerns, servants sliding the door closed so that Hanzo was alone with Jun. He dared not move until all had gone still, he knew there was a single servant outside his room, as there always was in case he needed something. The candles in the corners of his large room lit his room in a golden light that seemed to calm him easily enough. He moved to one corner and removed his armor, putting it down neatly before shrugging out of his fighting clothes and putting on a set of light sleeping garments, removing the tie from his hair and running his fingers through it before he had a realization.

Jun was in his bed.  
Jun was _in_ his **bed**.  
 _ **Jun WAS IN HIS BED.**_ He whirled his head around, heart hammering in his chest violently he watched as she slept. Perhaps it was a little brash of him to have put her in his bed, but his first thought had been of her comfort, now he thought of where he would sleep. He thought about sleeping by the door, but it did not appeal to him. He walked over to her and noticed she had shifted in the bed so that she was further away from the door, but still faced it. Hanzo sat down beside his bed and wiped away stray locks of her black hair from her face. She stirred for a moment, and he thought he had woken her.

Instead, she murmured sleep filled, soft words that Hanzo could not hear. He resumed petting her hair and found himself on the verge of tears. If his father succeeded in his plan, he would never get to see her this way again. He would never see her smile at him, feel her touch his arm, teach her archery. They would be denied their wedding in spring with purple and blue peonies. The first kiss that Hanzo had often thought of, dreamt of, would be stolen away by someone else. His parents would never agree to let her stay in the same house as him, she would be shipped to a vacation home to clean and keep the place proper while they were gone. She would forever be lost to him.

It made his heart ache, his stomach clench and his eyes sting, yet after the sorrow came the fury. There was a heat in his stomach that made its way up his throat to his mouth. It warmed his skin, and for a fleeting moment Hanzo thought he saw a tint of blue around his left hand, but when he looked down it was gone. He sighed angrily, feeling too agitated to sleep now despite his weariness. He looked back down at Jun and noticed two blue shapes draped over her protectively. It was two, long dragons, identical in every way from the soft blue glow of their scales and fur, to their long snouts and sharp teeth. They were much bigger than any dog Hanzo had ever seen, able to coil around Jun easily in length, and their width was almost equal to that of his sleeping bride.

The dragons lifted their heads to look at Hanzo, and he felt something stir in his chest with their movement. The fierceness, the protectiveness he had felt before seemed to resonate with the strange creatures as their haunting blue and white eyes stared not at—but through Hanzo.

"I won't let that happen." He swore to the dragons, "Jun will stay by my side, if she will have me."

"Young lord?" The servant called into the room, unsure if Hanzo was speaking to them.

"Nothing," Hanzo replied a little more loudly, never looking away as the dragons slowly faded from his vision. "Just talking to myself." He laid down beside Jun, half on the soft bed, half off as he lifted his hand and began stroking her black locks. He assumed that the dragons had just been a manifestation of his anger and desperation for a solution, between the silky feel of Jun's hair and her deep breathing, Hanzo found himself drifting to sleep. In his last few moments of being awake, he lowered his hand to the futon and placed it over Jun's who held it tightly, as if for life.

Hanzo woke early the next morning, alone. Fear and anger swept through him like a fire, he jumped to his feet grabbing his bow and quiver before storming out of his room, scaring the servant who had been sitting outside his door. He ran for the tearoom and found his father sitting quietly, eating a simple breakfast by himself. He looked up lazily and scoffed as Hanzo's ragged appearance. Hanzo had shrugged off the sleeves of his sleeping clothes and knocked an arrow, his hair hanging down around his shoulders as he took aim for his father's head with the bow and snarled, his eyes wide and hard with rage.

"Where is she!?"

"She left." Lord Shimada answered flatly as if he wasn't interested. "She was gone before the sun rose, by her own choice—not by force mind you."

"Liar!" Hanzo roared, moving further into the room to show his father he was serious in his threat. "You did something!"

"I did." His father admitted, putting down his chopsticks and looking up at his eldest son. His cold brown eyes impassible and impossible to read. "I gave her a chance to earn her place back in the family. Perhaps now you will not think me so heartless."

"She already had a place!" Hanzo shouted, pulling his bowstring back as far as he could, his hands shaking, throwing his aim off as it slightly bounced and jerked in his grip. "She was to be my wife! She needed no other place in the family!"

"She is an orphan." Lord Shimada corrected, picking up his teacup and drinking from it. "So I gave her a chance to prove herself. She's searching for Genji's attackers." Hanzo roared in anger, releasing the arrow, but it missed his fathers head by inches, freezing the elder man stiff as Hanzo stormed forward and kicked the table, making it slam into his father's chest.

"Have you gone mad!" Hanzo demanded, putting a foot on the table, "She is injured! Tell me where she was searching so that I may bring her back!"

"I pointed her in the direction the men were last seen, dropping over the wall in the garden." Lord Shimada growled, "That was hours ago, I told her not to come back until she found something. I pray we will be lucky and she will have succumbed to her wounds to die by now." Hanzo flipped the table with his foot, it tipped up and out of the way as he grabbed his father by his throat.

"Pray I do not succumb my temper and also lose a father—there is more than one way to gain ascension in a family—Lord Haido!" He cursed before throwing his father to the floor. "Get in my way, and I will not avert my arrow again. We will see what complaints you have when I am the lord of the Shimada clan." Haido Shimada shook ever so slightly as his son retreated from the room, running back the way he had come so that he could gather his armor and battle gear. He dressed hurriedly and answered the servants who came to call, asking him if he wanted breakfast.

"Would milord like to eat before he goes?" The woman asked, but Hanzo strapped his quiver to his back and snapped.

"No, but I would have you start the spread of word," He said as he adjusted his shirt, "Jun has gone in search of Genji if anyone has seen her or heard of her whereabouts I want a messenger sent directly to me, not to my father. He is not part of this command, is that understood?" He pulled his hair back into a high ponytail to keep it out of the way and tied it off with a white ribbon to keep it secure. The woman said she understood and left him to finish. Before he had made it to his own tearoom, two maids came to the door to tell him that Jun had been seen traveling on horseback down the road about two hours ago. Hanzo cursed his luck and retrieved his own horse from the stables, checking with the servant who handled the steeds that confirmed that Jun had taken a swift mare with two bags of supplies.

"How was she?" Hanzo asked as he climbed onto the saddle. "She was wounded yesterday, her injury, could you see it?"

"No young lord," The man shook his head, "A little pale in her face perhaps, but she seemed just as strong as ever." Hanzo nodded and gripped the reins tightly in his hands. "Young lord?" The man asked as he walked the horse from the stable to the path that would lead to the road. "Please be careful, and I pray to the gods you find Lady Jun. She is a kind woman, and we the servants just adore her." Hanzo smiled down at him, he was an older man, meek and soft through and through.

"As do I." Hanzo pat the man's shoulder before having a thought. "If she manages to return before I find her. Hide her. Stow her away in the stables if you must, or, best send her to my mother's family for safekeeping until this is resolved with Genji." He looked at the path, and a feeling nagged at him that he wouldn't be returning this night. "Do not let Haido lay eyes on her. Keep him ignorant of her whereabouts and trust none of my father's guard to keep her safe. Dress her in servant's clothes until I can come for her. I fear for her life more, here in my home than the open road—if it can be believed."

"It can milord," The man replied solemnly as he looked back to the main house, "You have my word, my family and I will do all we can to protect milords, true love." The man bowed deeply as a sign of respect, and Hanzo thanked him before setting off at a quick pace, leaving his home behind as he scanned the road ahead of him and the forests around him for any sign of a horse or Jun. The Shimada estate was secluded in a forest, out away from prying eyes, Hanzo lost a great deal of time getting to the road as he searched, but once he made it to the known road, he quickly spotted the hoof prints of a large horse that had headed east, further into the wilderness.

Hanzo steered his mount and followed the prints for hours, he was shocked to see they never wavered, keeping to one side of the road until suddenly they veered off, telltale signs of a horse picking its way through the woods. Hanzo gently led his horse inside the wood line for a ways until it became to difficult. He dismounted and tied the horse to a small tree, patting its head and stroking its mane as he thanked it in a hushed tone by its ear and promised to return for it. He removed his bow and knocked an arrow as he began picking his way around through the woods as quietly as he could manage. The sun was high, it was noon, and he knew he had few precious hours to find out what happened to the tracks before he would be lost in the dark.

She had attempted to cover her tracks and did reasonably well, Hanzo had a tough time following it, stopping several times to retract back to a marker he made with broken branches in the shape of an X and trying again until he found the next sign and marked it. She didn't seem to know where she was headed either, or she had found tracks that had worn away in her attempt to cover up her own movements. A few hours later, and many more markers, Hanzo found the mare Jun had taken and noticed that clothes had been discarded, the clothes she had been wearing the day before. Hanzo cursed and jumped to his feet, scanning the forest floor for her next set of tracks which lead him off to the left of the camp for several hours.

When the sun had nearly set, and he decided to make camp, Hanzo found what he was looking for. Part of the forest had been cleared away, and a house sat in the center with a small shack off to the right. Hanzo listened and could hear music being played from inside, at first he thought that this might just be some commoners home. However, as he got closer, he noticed that there were armed guards outside the front entrance, dressed in grays and blacks as the attackers had been and wielding similar weapons.

He kept to the woods for a while, overseeing them. They were lax and seemed bored as they spoke to one another in hushed tones, so Hanzo risked getting closer, running along a coach that sat unoccupied, no horse hitched to it and then made a break for the walkway on the side of the house beside a large window. He peeked inside but this room was empty, Hanzo pushed on the window and was thankful when it swung sideways, the glass centered in the middle. He slipped through it and replaced it carefully before going to the wall on the far side of the room by a doorway and listening.

It seemed that the party was just on the other side, Hanzo could make out several male voices and one higher pitched voice, a woman. He looked up to the ceiling and counted his blessings, this houses ceiling was much like his own homes, he could crawl among the rafters and stay out of sight as he observed them. Climbing on top of a dresser, Hanzo reached up and removed a mat from the ceiling and hoisted himself up into the attic above. Thankfully the home was only one level and wasn't that big, so he had little issue following the sound among the wooden beams until he came to what he assumed was the far corner of the right side and poked a hole through the mat, trying to peek through. Yet he could see nothing.

Taking his small knife from his hip, he cut away a small section of mat gently so not to disturb it too much and draw attention. When he pulled it away, he noticed he was looking down into a party hall, a place where people would gather for sake, drinks, and company, usually reserved for large parties that could not fit inside an intimate tearoom. There were several men in Hanzo's line of sight, so he began counting them as he made rounds, going from corner to count all the bodies down in the room below. One wrong error in judgment and one of several things could happen. He counted at least ten men in similar clothing lined in straight lines with food and drink in front of them. There were three at the head of the room. A man with a grey kimono on, his greying hair pulled to the side in a soft, low ponytail, a woman—probably a geisha meant to entertain the men, and a young man bound and gagged that Hanzo recognized immediately. _GENJI!_


	7. Cerbera Odollom

_Hold._

Hanzo reminded himself as he resisted dropping down through the mat on top of the older man's head, bow drawn and ready to fight his way through the enemy to save his brother. He tried to see how Genji was being held captive, but it seemed that his hands were merely tied behind his back and a black blindfold wrapped around his eyes to keep him blind, and a white gag to keep him silent. With Hanzo being above him, and Genji sitting correctly, the elder Shimada couldn't tell if his brother's feet had been bound as well.

Hanzo narrowed his eyes, the knot seemed simple enough, Genji could escape on his own if he wasn't inured to badly. It was one of the skills that Genji came by naturally and often gloated about to Hanzo—who had trouble escaping such traps. If the younger Shimada had yet to flee, not because of the inability to—then there was something else keeping him here. Some outside threat promised to someone else.

Hanzo looked around the room once more, attacking from above like this would give him the edge of surprise, but it was also troublesome. He would have to remove whole sections of the mat and either hang down by his legs on the rafters to get a clear shot around the room or drop down and lose the high ground. He decided it wasn't enough of an advantage and retreated as far back to the house as he could, to the left of where he had initially climbed up into the attic. He dropped down just on the outside of party room—a small room perhaps meant to be a guest's room, hearing the men that were eating and drinking happily break into an old song.

 _At the rate they are getting drunk_ , Hanzo reasoned as he pulled the door open just enough to peek in. He saw the man's back and his handsome face as he laughed at something the Geisha said behind her sleeve, _I could simply wait for them all to pass out and sneak Genji out in the cloak of darkness._

He watched as the young Geisha denied a drink of sake that the man offered her and how her eyes closed halfway, giving her a flirtatious and mysterious air. Hanzo did not need to see her lips to know she was smirking and saying something clever as the man roared with laughter, making Genji beside him flinch in response.

 _She could be a prisoner as well_ , Hanzo reasoned, _if she is, I will try and leave an opening for her to escape as well._ Hanzo sat back and removed an arrow from his quiver, nervously fidgeting with it by twirling it. Watching the Geisha flirt with the man made him miss Jun, and his longing was laced with worry. She had no doubt found the house, but he had not seen a single sign of her inside. Nor had he heard any conversation about any other woman as he listened to the bits and pieces of the conversation he overheard.

How long Hanzo sat there was lost to him, he had grown restless and was about to get to his feet and take a second look around the house when the man said something that caught his ear and made him panic.

"I no longer wish to share your company Kana, join me." The older man stood and held out his hand to the Geisha who stood gracefully and followed his lead to the room where Hanzo was hiding. Scrambling the young archer hid in a closet, climbing up on a shelf and pulling the door almost shut, giving himself a sliver of light and sight into the room. When the man and woman had stepped inside the room, the man started to close the door securely, and the woman stopped him, a fan hiding her face below her eyes.

"You would trust your prisoner not to escape when presented with such an opportunity?" She asked as the man turned his back to the door and shut it tightly behind him. Hanzo felt something wrong with the situation, and it was more than just Genji being left alone while a prisoner, this man did not have pure intention.

"Though he is the son of an enemy, he is a kind-hearted boy and would not risk harm to his beloved mother or brother for his foolish actions. He will stay put until I tell him to move," The man loosened his shirt and moved to sit by a small table, gesturing for her to sit directly beside him, close. They were facing the closet in which Hanzo was hiding, so he had full view through the crack as the woman sat down and the man wrapped an arm around her tightly. "How fortunate for me that you lost your way so far out into the woods." The man purred, his hand roaming up and down her arm as she kept her composure.

"A miracle for me Lord." The woman replied, giving him a polite dip of her head. "You did not eat at the feast, do you hunger?"

"Not for food," The man chuckled, his hand sliding down to her hip where he gripped a handful of her skin through the layers of silky kimono, it made her gasp and pull away reluctantly, but he held her firm in his grasp. "You would not turn away the Lord who so graciously helped you in your time of need, would you?" He demanded, reaching up and yanking away her fan.

Hanzo looked up into the closet, hoping to see the familiar mat above his head, but instead, it was solid wood. When he looked back, the woman had her head turned away, sleeve hiding her face shyly as the man tried to peek at her. "You are shy, that can be very desirable." He stroked her hair gently, and it made her turn to him, her mind seeming to change with the tone of his voice. He wasn't commanding now, it was persuading and charming.

"Yes, my lord, I am quite shy." The woman admitted, closing her eyes as she tipped her head down, "I'm afraid I am not very…experienced…" She covered the rest of her face in embarrassment and turned away, but the man seemed excited, pulling her closer, his hands practically crushing her arms as he gripped them. A bag from her sleeve fell onto the floor between them, and the man picked it up. "How embarrassing," The girl squeaked, turning away from the closet. Hanzo tried to focus on the bag, to see what it could be when the man opened his and deposited seeds into his hand.

"What are these?" He asked, picking one up and looking at it in the light. The Geisha murmured something, and the man repeated, "Sensual seed?" He cocked a brow at it and turned it over in the light to observe it better. "What does it do?"

"It…enhances the feeling…. of being intimate." The woman explained, squirming in her spot.

"Is that so," The man grabbed her and pulled her into his lap as she hid her face in her sleeves again like a child, "Eat one." He told her, but she shook her head.

"It will not affect the woman," She explained, "Its effects are solely for males."

"Then feed them to me," He purred, holding her up as she lowered her sleeves to the tip of her nose, locking eyes with the man. "Put it between your teeth and give it to me by your lips. I would see how this 'sensual seed' works." Slowly, the woman lowered her sleeves and opened her mouth, allowing him to place the seed between her teeth, which she covered by closing her lips. Hanzo nearly fell out of the closet trying to peek out of the crack, he recognized the woman—it was Jun.

She had on a wig to hide her natural black hair, and her makeup while not professionally done, seemed passible and changed her features enough that he had not recognized her right away. He watched as the man ran his hands up her back to cup her neck and bring her closer to him. Without thinking about consequences, only fury, and bloodlust, Hanzo threw open the closet door and took aim for the man's head; as he released his bow, however, the man slammed himself and Jun to the floor to avoid being hit. Hanzo reached back for another arrow as the man scrambled to his feet, pulling Jun up by her arm.

"Don't move boy!" The man demanded as Hanzo pulled back the arrow, drawing the straight tight. "Your brother sits right outside this door, one yell from me—" The man's threat was cut short, turning into gurgles and panicked breaths as the thick hairpin sank through his skin, piercing his throat from one side and exiting the other like a knife. Jun pulled the pin free and slung it out away from her to rid it of the blood, pulling herself free from the man's grip as he fell to his knees, attempting to keep his blood inside his body by clamping his hands around his throat in a tight coke. It did not take long for him to slump against the table and stop moving, blood pouring over the side and puddling into the floor by his knees.

"You weren't supposed to come." Jun spat out the seed on the man's body as a sign of hate and turned to look at the angry archer, his bow lowered slightly but still ready to strike. Hanzo had thousands of words speeding past him in his mind, half a dozen questions and accusations, but when his mouth opened all that came out was an angry snarl of—

"What were you thinking?" He ran to the door and yanked it open, half expecting to see Genji being executed. Instead, the younger Shimada sat just where he had been hours ago, hands still tied, blinded and gagged, as if he were a statue.

"Don't worry." Jun said flatly as Hanzo realized it had been silent for some time, "I lied to the cooks and told them the seeds were a new spice that would put a battle-ready edge to warriors that had come from another part of the world." She shook the bag of seeds that she had recollected as Hanzo looked around the room. All the men that had once been joyfully singing and drinking together lay dead, strewn across the room where they had fallen and laid still.

"Cerbera Odollom." She explained, holding out seeds for Hanzo to look at as he whirled around. "They are dead, you and Genji may leave when you are ready. The guards outside were served the same food, I assume they too have perished."

"You're coming with us." Hanzo snarled storming into the party room as Genji began yelling through the gag at the sound of his brother's voice. When he removed the gag, Genji started asking questions without end. How had he found him? What happened to all the men? Why was Jun there, what about their father, their mother? After a cold, angry look from Hanzo though, Genji fell silent and felt it was best to just take it as a miracle. Jun had been right, the men outside too had fallen victim to her ploy and lay dead where they had stood when Hanzo had snuck in.

The travel back to the Shimada estate was silent, Genji riding the mare that Jun had used while Jun rode with Hanzo. He made her ride in front of him, his arms around her to hold the reins, not in a loving embrace that he realized he should be giving her, but in an attempt to keep her from escaping. Judging by the blank expression on her face, and the sadness in her eyes, she was likely to do if given a chance. Hanzo knew that Genji could feel the radiating anger and betrayal that he was emitting, and when they returned home was only somewhat glad to hear that their father had left the estate to check on their mother.

Hanzo sent Genji to his room with the doctor so that he could be looked at and made sure that he had not sustained any injuries past his first encounter with the kidnappers. The youth almost started to protest, but he could see the way his older brother looked at his fiancée and decided it was best not to pry. There was no childish glee, taunts or teases when he left them alone in Hanzo's room this time, though he did offer Jun a nod of thanks as she stood at a safe distance from Hanzo.

When the door had shut, and Hanzo was sure they were alone, he began pacing the room, his hands clenching and unclenching before he angrily untied his armor and dropped it as he walked—no mind for treating it gently or correctly. Jun busied herself with washing away the makeup with warm water and a towel that a servant had brought to her. When he was down to his cloth clothing, he turned to glare at her.

"What, were you thinking?" He growled angrily through clenched teeth as Jun looked down at her feet and wrapped her arms around herself in a tight hug, her face pink from the rubbing.

"I was trying to save Genji." She said simply, which made Hanzo resume pacing, this time quicker. "Lord Shimada told me that if I could return Genji to him, then he would consider letting me stay here with you…" She swallowed hard around a lump in her throat, but Hanzo felt no sympathy toward her. "Yet, when he gave me the seeds—"

" **He** gave those to you?" Hanzo snapped, stopping mid-stride to watch her nod, before going back to his single-minded repetition. "Go on."

"I knew that he did not intend on keeping his word…He did not know…that I knew what they were…" Her voice wavered and cracked, he could hear the ragged breath she took to calm herself. "Cerbera Odollom…A seed from the suicide tree." She tilted her head back and blinked away tears. "Just one whole seed is enough to kill a full-grown man when mixed with food…I had hoped that the lord of the attacking clan would take his meal with his men…but I think your father knew better…"

"You were going to commit suicide as you murdered that man." Hanzo guessed, lifting his hand and biting down on his own flesh hard as he thought back to her with the seed in her lips as she nearly kissed the man she later killed without so much as a blink.

"I was," Jun admitted meekly, nodding and closing her eyes as tears streamed down her cheeks and ruined her makeup.

"Why?" Hanzo snarled, whirling around on her and stalking to her threateningly, but she did not back down. Her expression never changed.

"Why?" She asked with a breathless laugh as more tears ran down her cheeks, "The best my life could hope for would be to be your servant Hanzo. To serve you food and drink, to clean your clothes—while another woman was your wife. To see you offer your attention, your affection to another woman the way you used to give it to me…" She shook her head as he closed the distance between them and kept coming, backing her up as she continued speaking.

"I could not bear to see another woman as your wife. To be the target of your affection, the reason behind your smiles—sharing your bed!" She shook her head violently as if the thought was enough to physically harm her. "The worst my life could offer would be a swift execution by your father's guard, if my life was to end, I wanted it to be of my own choice, not someone elses…" She locked eyes with him as he pressed her against the wall of his room. "So yes, I was going to kill myself. My thought at the time had been at least I could return Genji to you."

"You were going to…" Hanzo pressed his lips into a hard line, punching the wall beside her head and making her flinch in fear. "You almost kissed that man." Confusion clouded her face for only a moment before being replaced with mild fear. "Do you know, how much I have been fighting to keep you here, by my side?" He put his free hand beside her head, so she could not flee, his head hanging between them limply as he thought of all he had said and done in the time she had been missing.

"I assaulted my father for just mentioning your execution. I threatened him with assassination by my own hand for sending you out in search for Genji while injured, for taunting me with the idea of your death." He laughed, a cold, heartless sound, "I search so frantically for you, and had everything I wanted to say planned out. I had so much I wanted to tell you, confess to you…And yet…when…I….found….you…." with each word his fist hit the wall beside her head, the force behind the blow growing with each strike, his face darkening with hurt and rage. "You were in the arms of another man!"

"Not willingly!" She denied, pushing away from the wall a fraction only to be put back in her place by Hanzo pressing his head against hers.

"Willingly enough!" He barked, "You were willing to give away the kiss that should have been mine!" He shook his head as she stared at him, in shock of the confession or fear of accidentally being struck he didn't know. "Are you aware of how many times you have tempted me to simply **take it** from you." He looked down at her lips as she pressed them into a line.

"Why didn't you?" She asked, her voice finding a hint of bravery to strengthen her tone. "You have had more than one opportunity."

"Because it is not right," Hanzo snapped, angry that he had to explain his reasoning for the right course of actions. "You are not an object to be owned, you are not a toy to be played with. You are a woman with feelings, and you should be treated as such. As you were so quick to remind me all these years… Taking your first kiss would have been an assault in my eyes." He looked up into her face and could register the shocked stare she was giving him, but there was something in her eyes he couldn't place. "It would have been tainted….The only way I could is if you gave…."

"Gave what?" She asked, sounding confused.

"Your consent," Hanzo answered, his brow knitting together as he realized how pathetic he sounded. The anger had melted from him, and he was left with the heartache that threatened to collapse his chest and pierce his heart with his bones. His eyes began to sting, and his vision blurred as he closed his eyes to keep from crying.

"I do." Hanzo almost missed it, the tiny, breathless whisper as light as a butterfly's kiss to his ears. He lifted his head to look down into Jun's face as she looked up at him sternly, she still seemed frightened, off-center as she blinked several times and her breathing was uneven. His brown eyes widened slightly, searching for a sign on her face when she nodded. Hanzo felt his chest flutter with movement, a squirm as if snakes were under his skin as he realized what she meant. He stepped back from her, putting his hands on her—one on her neck, the other cupping her cheek as he leaned in close—lips separated only by a breath.

"You consent?" His lips brushed hers as he whispered, he wanted no misunderstandings in this moment—no mistakes.

"Yes." Just as soft as her first admission, and just as sweet. Hanzo gently pressed his lips to hers, feeling a shock run through him at this unfamiliar, yet addicting sensation. Her lips were raw from scrubbing the makeup away, making them soft and warm. When he pulled away he found he did not want the moment to end, he adjusted his hands so they both held the sides of her head and tipped her head up, so he could kiss her again more easily.

Her hands found his chest, and a finger traced a line of heat across the skin that showed between the folds of his shirt. He felt the hairs on his neck and arms stand in chills despite the tingling sensation of warmth as he tilted his head to the side, kisses melting into one another until he lost count. The squirming feeling intensified as he felt his heart speed up, he could hear her breathing change. He pulled back slightly, realizing how hard he was holding her head in his hands, he was afraid he was hurting her but when he removed his hands, she gripped the front of his clothes, pulling him closer. She tried to tiptoe and reach his lips, but she missed as she lost her balance and instead kissed high on his neck.

"I'm sorry!" Her voice was breathless as she pulled away, covering her mouth with her hands in embarrassment as Hanzo covered the spot with one of his hands. "I didn't mean to—"

"Do it again," Hanzo removed his hand and pulled the neckline of his shirt away to reveal a spot closer to her height. "Please." He saw her cheeks darken with heat before she kissed the spot gently, Hanzo felt his knees grow weak at the touch, leaning against her until she backed into the wall once more. He kissed along her jawline as he helped her move his shirt from his shoulders, letting it fall and hang around his waist as it did during his training. Her hands felt like sparks of lightning as she touched new skin, her fingertips soft as petals as they mapped out the curves and cuts of his body. He cupped her face in his hands once more for a deep, longing kiss when he heard the door slide open, and panic filled voice hiss.

"Hanzo!"

Hanzo looked over his shoulder, using his body to block the sight of Jun as one of his hands found the ties of her obi and began pulling at them. It was Genji, leaning into the room through a crack in the door, his face pale and sweaty.

"Leave!" Hanzo ordered, but his brother protested in unison.  
"Brother, Father is—"

The door slid the rest of the way open, and Genji fell backward onto his butt as Haido Shimada stormed into the room, staring with a look of contempt and horror at the sight of his son protectively crouched over Jun, half-naked and looking more than a little wound up.

"Hanzo!" Haido snarled as Hanzo turned his body to face his father, putting Jun behind him and wrapping his arms back behind him so that she stayed close. "Get away from her!" Genji appeared back in the doorway and ran past his father to go stand beside his brother, arms out at shoulder height to block the path to Jun as Haido stepped in the room with four of his personal guard.

"I will not!" Hanzo yelled back, narrowing his eyes. "You will do no harm to her, she has done no wrong!"

"She saved me, father!" Genji added frantically, he was shivering slightly in his spot from fear. "She risked her life for mine, and Hanzo saved us both, surely you can see that their love—"

"Genji silence yourself and return to your room," Haido ordered, his youngest sons face falling into despair as he continued slowly toward Hanzo. "This is family business, and you are far too young to understand as of yet. Let me handle your brother."

"But father!" Genji protested only to be silenced when two of the guard came forward and grabbed him, forcing him from the room by carrying him against his will. Hanzo started to go after them, but the movement of the other two and his father made him see through the hoax. The guard would do no harm to Genji, merely remove him for his own safety and keep him out of harm's way. The real threat was still present.

"Step. Away." Haido ordered, "Or be forcibly removed like your brother."

"Kill me first," Hanzo growled defiantly, tensing up for a fight when Jun's arm on his shoulder stopped him.

"Hanzo please," She whispered, "I can fight my own battles." This made him whirl to look at her, her face registered no fear, nor anger. She looked calm and at peace, although not happy. She replaced the folds of her kimono as best she could and looked up past him to Haido. "I did as you commanded Lord. I fed the seeds to the attacking house, and they all lay dead where they ate. However, there were …complications." She looked down as she smoothed out her hair, so she looked like a proper young woman. "Never-the-less Lord Shimada, the head of the snake has been removed."

"Not yet its not," Haido growled, signaling for the remaining guard to secure Hanzo who tried to stand by her side, only to be hauled a few feet away as he resisted. "Kneel." A look of anger and defiance crossed her face before she slowly got to her knees in front of him, keeping her eyes level with an object in the distance as Haido grabbed her by her hair and produced a knife from his belt. Hacking and sawing away at her hair in handfuls until he was satisfied at the crudely chopped mess he left attached to her head before cutting down the back of her kimono, it threatened to fall away and reveal her chest but she lifted her hands to stop it. He gestured to a servant who had been waiting outside the door to come in, they shuffled in with their head lowered, their eyes to their feet as they held out a long rod-like object.

Hanzo jerked and pulled against the men's hold on his hands and shoulders as Haido swung his arm back and began violently beating Jun's back as hard as he could with the rod. She barely whimpered in response. Doubling over and her hands digging into her arms as she bit her bottom lip to keep silent as the assault continued. Hanzo stopped moving for a moment to lead the men into believing he had given up, when their hold loosened on him slightly he pulled his arms free and closed this distance easily, covering Jun with himself in a tight embrace as the rod came down to strike him once.

"Remove him!" Haido ordered to the men as Hanzo gripped Jun for life, refusing to be separated from her.

"I promised I would protect her!" Hanzo roared so viciously that the guards stopped trying to pull him away, looking at one another before looking back to Haido who was flushed in the face, strands of his greying hair falling from its ponytail to hand raggedly around his face from the effort of whipping the young woman. "Even if it means from my family!"

"By the gods," A soft voice called into the room, "What manner of madness has overtaken my home while I was away?"


	8. The Truth

Haido's guard bowed, dropping to their knees as Hanzo's mother entered the room. She was dressed in silver and soft cyan, the silver in the shape of clouds to symbolize the sky. Her long floor-length hair was pulled up into an elegant style with loops hanging to look like a butterfly. Her dark eyes went wide when she saw Hanzo hovered over a mutilated Jun, their clothes were torn, and their bodies beat.

"Haido!" She snapped, gathering folds of the kimono in her hands before rushing to the teens. "What happened?" she asked Hanzo, taking Jun's chin in her hands and touching her hair, making noises of fret and worry as Haido growled and barked with outright hatred.

"This vixen has poisoned our son's mind, he has become disobedient. He has lost his understanding of his place, his duty, and his honor!"

"Honor!" Lady Shimada snapped, standing slowly, her eyes narrowing. "What honor does a man have for mutilating a young woman?" She flicked her hand down to indicate Jun as the younger woman straightened her back and steeled her face from emotion as she looked up into her attacker's face. "Our son's betrothed no less?"

"The engagement has been terminated." Haido grit his teeth, starting to pace. "Her father was killed in an ambush attack. Her teacher, her father, her mother…she has no family left. She is no more than an orphan. The only thing she is suited for now is servitude. Because of our son's rebellious streak, I punished her."

"For what?" Lady Shimada growled, her delicate hands clenching.

"For ruining our son and threatening the well-being of the clan with tainted blood!" Haido protested, pulling himself up to full height. Hanzo got to his feet to add his own words to the argument, but his mother held up a finger to his face without looking at him, eyes locked on Haido.

"Tainted blood?" Lady Shimada scoffed, her hand dropping as she lowered her chin, the shadows of the fading light casting a dark shadow over her face. The makeup she was wearing made her look animal-like, ready to strike for a killing blow. "How a position of power has changed one's mind…" She tilted her head to one side, eyes hooded with disdain as she took in the sight of her husband. "The clan's bloodline is not your concern Shuzu." Haido's eyes widened, and his posture shrank considerably. He no longer looked so powerful and confident to anyone in the room.

"Shuzu?" Hanzo asked, brow furrowing as he helped Jun stand, pulling the remains of the kimono to her back so it would cover her better.

"Mm." Lady Shimada started strolling, stalking like a dragon ready to strike, slowly she circled Haido who seemed more than a little nervous. "I suppose it is my fault, allowing Shuzu to take over your education. While you learned many subjects well, the family's bloodline has been mistaught…" She was behind Haido now, his eyes lowering to the mats beneath his feet. She kicked the backside of his legs, in the bend of his knee, so he fell to them before grabbing him by the base of his ponytail, pulling back to reveal his throat. "You worry about 'tainted' blood. Let's not forget your beginnings, Shuzu!" She looked up to Hanzo who was in awe and shock, mouth hanging open. His mother had always been a delicate, soft-spoken lady, but now she was a tigress, fierce and unforgiving.

"Haido Shimada was the name given to him by the former Lord Tatsuya Shimada… your grandfather, Hanzo," Lady Shimada said slowly.

"Ryoko!" Haido begged as she tightened her hold and jerked his head to the side, "Please!"

"Silence Shuzu," Ryoko Shimada growled, "It is time the children knew the truth of the clan."

"I thought I had already learned the truth?" Hanzo said, suddenly unsure of everything he knew. "Your father named my father? I don't understand. I was told that when you married that grandfather also adopted the Shimada name as a sign of loyalty and full integration of the two clans?"

"All will be explained." Ryoko pulled Haido's head back, so he looked up at her. "For now we must fix this fools mistakes." She looked out into the hall and called in a few servants, giving orders to get the house under control and back into order. "Gather clothes for Jun, see what can be done with her hair. Tend to her wounds. See to my sons, prepare a small meal and tea, bring them to the main tea room." She looked over to Hanzo who refused to leave Jun's side, it brought a smile to her face. "Don't force them apart. Let him go with her if he chooses. A dragon will guard his treasure to his last breath." She nodded as the servants bowed and shuffled from the room quickly to distribute orders. "As for him." She threw Haido to the ground roughly as the guard moved to surround him. "Lock him in the storage building. No one is to speak to him, he is to go without food and drink until I deem it necessary. No matter his threats, no matter his pleas. Let them fall on deaf ears." The guards grabbed Haido by his arms and hauled him, kicking, cursing and yelling from the room as Ryoko put a hand to her head.

"Mother?" Hanzo called as he and Jun neared the door.

"If you will, my son." She smiled sweetly at him, and Hanzo no longer saw the tigress, poised to kill, he saw his mother. Gentle and kind, warm and soft as a new lamb. "You may come with me and learn, or go with Jun, but rest assured, no harm will come to her now. And the engagement—"

"Mother—!"

"It will be discussed openly," She held up her hand as she came closer to him. "I wish to hear all that has happened while I was away. I have a feeling I know everything, but would rather hear it from all involved." Her eyes softened as she cupped her son's cheek, shocking him into silence. "I failed you my son, and I will never forgive myself. But know this." She pulled her hand away, and the fierceness returned to her eyes and face, making her delicate features seem sharp and bloodthirsty. "A dragon protects her young, and seeks vengeance when they have been injured or threatened."

Hanzo went with Jun, making sure that there would be no secret orders to have her hurt worse, removed from his reach or worst of all—killed. The doctor looked them all over, and Genji was brought to Hanzo at his mother's orders. The younger Shimada was just as lost as his older brother, asking endless questions until Hanzo just gave him a helpless look as they entered the tea room. Ryoko Shimada was sitting on one side of the table, a long scroll of parchment in her hand as she looked up. There were bowls and plates filled with food, but it was barely touched as the three teenagers sat on the opposite side from the Lady of the clan.

Without any explanation, Ryoko bowed deeply on her side of the table in a manner that didn't fit her position, making the children look between themselves for an answer that only came when the older woman sat upright and sighed heavily.

"Haido Shimada is a fraudulent name." She said slowly, a distant look in her brown eyes. "When I was young, I was much like you Jun-chan." She smiled at the younger woman and looked down at her hands. "I was stubborn but strong, I had my sights set high and knew at any cost I would achieve my goals." She lifted a hand and chuckled behind it. "It took great restraint not to laugh at the irony when we met that day so many years ago, but I have only grown to adore you more with time. I could not ask for a better wife for my son." She smiled to Hanzo and then to Jun, "If you two should wish it, the engagement will continue, and you two will be wed as planned." Neither Jun nor Hanzo moved, they had been holding hands when they entered the room, and their clenched hands lay on Hanzo's leg as they sat side by side.

"I went through my fair share of suitors. Not many men can handle a female dragon." Ryoko closed her eyes and sighed. "I scared off every match the Nakado found…all but one servant boy who didn't let my brashness scare him away. He took it as a challenge and vowed to not be outdone. His name was Shuzu." She opened her eyes again. "That was your fathers birth name." Genji gasped, and Hanzo closed his eyes, trying to process everything. "When no acceptable suitor could be found for me, the Nakado suggested someone of lower birth to be adopted. While the clan would remain in its position, it did give the chance of a future, and with a capable son to lead the way, the clan could grow and prosper as needed. Shuzu was chosen easily enough. Adopted, his name changed, his past forgotten. Shuzu became Haido and the false head of the Shimada clan. **My** Clan." Ryoko looked at her sons. **"Your** clan."

"So this whole time…" Genji mumbled, his face white with shock. "You are the true head of the clan…and Father has been a fraud?"

"More than a fraud," Ryoko's eyes narrowed as she looked past her son to the closed doors. "A greedy, terrible snake that threatened to evolve into an ouroboros, devouring itself and destroying everything it touched." She shook her head. "He nearly destroyed our family because of his fear and pride."

"Fear?" Jun's voice was soft, guarded and dark. "Fear of what?"

"Of upheaval." Ryoko answered with a sigh, "He climbed to great heights with me. We lifted the Shimada clan in many ways, made it a name to be respected and feared… Someone as accomplished as Hanzo, at such a young age, and with a woman as strong-willed, bright and dangerous as you by his side?" Ryoko gave Jun a knowing smile, "You two will be nearly unstoppable. The entire spiral will quake before you both. He feared his time of power, his life of glory and being in control was coming to an end, and he simply did not wish it to be." Ryoko poured a glass of tea for herself before picking up her cup. "Now, one at a time, tell me what happened while I was away."

As Ryoko drank her tea and everyone ate their food, the children one at a time told their story to completion. Starting with Hanzo and Jun from the moment they were all separated during the attack, to when Genji had been removed forcibly by the guard for his safety during Haido's rage. Ryoko only stopped them a few times to clarify some piece of information or to ask a question about what had been said. When they were finished, she called servants into the room to have it cleared.

"As I suspected…" Ryoko said flatly. "This can't go unpunished."

"You suspected what?" Hanzo asked, shifting his weight slightly.

"Those attacks were not orchestrated by an enemy clan…" Her words chilled the room, stunning the three into an unnatural silence before rage overtook Hanzo into jumping ot his feet and shouting.

"What do you mean!"

"Just as I said my son," Ryoko placed the scroll on the table for all to see, "It was meant to be a clever move for more power, but it has backfired." She watched as Jun's jaw clenched. "With accident's befalling the union, Haido was planning to garner favor with a more powerful clan for the hand of a daughter or two. Surviving such attacks to your person, albeit free of any real threat, would make you seem powerful. The loss of your first love would bend your will to finding a second, perhaps to honor Jun's memory you would vow to protect your new bride from all harm and perhaps love her even more."

"So father was the one who planned those attacks…he…" Genji bit his lip as Hanzo read over the scroll. It was orders in Haido's handwriting on how to handle the assassination of the rest of the Hashira clan. After the blunder of the first attempt, he wanted no failure and how no harm was to seriously befall Genji; although a bit of a beating could be given as long as he wasn't maimed. Hanzo wanted to destroy the scroll but knew better of it, he threw it to the table and got to his feet, starting to pace angrily.

"He was the one to murder my family." Jun said flatly, an eerie calm about her that Ryoko recognized all too well. "Strange." She murmured, pulling Genji's attention as he bit his thumb nervously. "I thought him kind and fatherly, he had me thoroughly fooled until recently." She looked up into Ryoko's face, "When he tried to separate Hanzo and I, I admit I started to suspect…Then he gave me suicide seeds to kill the men who killed my father and made off with Genji…"

"Hoping you would see clearly enough the path that was unfolding, but still clouded enough to not see through his thin veil of lies and misdirection." Ryoko nodded, "He covered his tracks more carefully with his first attempt. Buried and destroyed all evidence thoroughly but not completely." She tapped a finger on the table. "I had to travel and be away to find out the truth, and by doing so, I left you all alone with him and look at you all." She looked to Jun, her black hair cropped short like a mans close to her head. Bruises had formed where she had been struck. Hanzo walked past her as he paced, and without thinking, Jun reached out, taking his hand in hers, and making him stand still.

"I will leave your fate to the two of you," Ryoko said with finality. "If you two wish to stay together, then you have the blessing of the Shimada clan behind you." She smiled as Hanzo knelt beside Jun and locked eyes with her. "I would be honored to have you as a daughter." Ryoko's smile held a hint of humor as Jun looked at her, the elder woman could see the fire in her hazel eyes. "You will make a fine dragon."

"What about Shuzu?" Hanzo asked, drawing his mothers attention. "He can't go unscathed from all this."

"Of course not my son, but a frontal assault is not the answer." Ryoko nodded, "I will need time to think, and if needed, speak with some trusted advisors, and Jun of course." When the children grew quiet Ryoko closed her eyes. "It has been an awful last few days, how about we all try and get some rest." She looked at Jun and bowed her head. "I know you do not wish to leave Hanzo's side and while…" She snickered as she spoke, Hanzo's face flushing with heat. "A moment of passion I can forgive, we should not simply turn the two of you lose." There was no teasing from Genji, who cleared his throat and slowly got to his feet. "If you would, stay with me, I would like to speak with you alone. Woman to woman. Wife to wife."

Jun looked to Hanzo who seemed deep in thought, after a few moments he blinked and nodded once. Jun smiled and then bowed her head to Ryoko, saying soft goodbyes as the boys left the room, heading to their own beds for the night. When they had gone, Ryoko sighed heavily as if a massive weight had been removed from her shoulders. She slumped from the perfect posture she had kept the entire time and loosened some of the ties on her kimono, so it fit more loosely. Jun's eyes widened as Ryoko removed the pins from her hair and let it fall like an obsidian curtain around her.

"Lady Shimada?" Jun asked as Ryoko ran her fingers through her hair. She no longer looked the part of a sophisticated woman as she took a rag from inside her clothing and wiped the makeup away from her face, revealing her natural skin and features.

"No need in stuffy titles and false politness now Jun." Ryoko smiled as a woman servant shuffled into the room and repalced the teapot with a bottle of sake and two cups, bowing and backing out of the room without turning her back or lifting her head to meet eithers gaze. "You're a smart girl, I can see that." Ryoko poured some sake into her cup and sipped it silently. "It should not be hard for you to keep up with what I am going to tell you." She eyed the young woman over her cup. "Are you ready to begin your first lesson as a Shimada woman?" Jun gave one deep, slow nod of her head, eyes locked on Ryoko's as she picked up her own cup and held it out for it to be filled.

"Good girl. I'm sure your mother, may she be at peace, taught you of the spirals inner workings. Can you tell me what you've been taught?" Ryoko reached out and filled the cup until Jun gestured for her to stop.

"Each clan that is a part of the spiral has their hands in many different commodities. Be it the militrary, food, spices, clothing, drugs…" She lifted the cup to her lips. "For my family, it was clothing and plant fields. For the Shimada clan it was military forces and drugs." Ryoko nodded, "Using our fields to supply medicine for your troops, more would be bought and used for dug based plants. Using our clothing connections, money could be laundered and spread, drugs could be transported among our goods." She sipped from the cup and tried to remember more.

"Interesting," Ryoko mused, "Did she teach that all to you, openly?" The elder woman raised a brow which sparked the hint of a smirk for the younger. "I thought not." She sat down her cup and gave a slow, soft clap. "Very impressive."

"The more places a clan has their hands, the more influence they have, the closer to the center that they are." Jun continued. "My family didn't have much, so we weren't very high in the pecking order but were were rising slowly. The Shimada's military force is quite substatial, so your position was much higher from the start." A dark look passed over Jun's face. "Haido had me fooled into thinking he was the head of the clan," this made Ryoko snort with laughter.

"All the men in the spiral think it is they who hold the reins." The cockiness to Ryoko's voice and the laughter that came at Jun's surprised look was joyful and high. "Oh sweet blossom of a child, it is not the men in their war rooms who turn the tides of war!" She leaned across the table, her eyes half closed in a sense of surperiority. "It is their women in the tea room who pull the strings. Wives and mothers are the true heads of the clan in this sense." When Jun's expression didn't change, Ryoko laughed again. "When the lights of day have faded and the mens hearts are weary, it is easy to manipulate them and shape their will to your own." She propped her head up, "I've been toying with Shuzu for years." She shrugged. "Until recently that is." The smile vanished from her face and was replaced with outright rage.

"I don't unerstand." Jun turned her head to the side, eyeing the other woman suspeciously.

"I didn't have a hand in your families fate," Ryoko clarified, her voice hard and sharp like a blade. "I had looked forward to teaching you the ways of the spiral with your mother. Shaping you into the future mother of my grandchildren. Showing you the way of the dragon." She sighed heavily. "But I put to much faith in Shuzu, my grooming of him was not quite as complete as I had previously thought. All these _plans_ ," She spat the word in sarcasm, pouring more sake. "of his were made without my knowledge and brought about on his own during my abesnce. Had he asked me about these plans I would have denied them from the start." She narrowed her eyes as she gazed into her cup, "He knew as much. Which is why he conducted them in secret."

"He betrayed you too." Jun summerized flatly, watching as Ryoko took the drink of sake and poured another for herself, drinking it and several more before growling like an animal.

"Foolish idiot." Ryoko closed her eyes and rubbed her brow with one hand. "No he must be punished, severely. There is no turning back and being trusted after you try to burn the dragon." She tapped a finger against her cheek. "Yet if he was to die, the men of the spiral would demand that Hanzo either take his place, or the Shimada clan would be removed from the workings and you understand what that would mean."

"Total annihalation."

"Indeed…however…" Ryoko smiled slyly. "If we are smart…" She leaned back and put her hands on the ground. "Then we might be able to scare him into submission until Hanzo is ready to take his place…" Ryoko smiled at this thought. "You could take your fury out on him, little by little until he has worn out his usefulness…then we can do away with him." She turned and put a hand to her face, the perfect image of a woman in distress. "What a tragedy it will be when a horrid accident befalls my beloved." She covered her mouth and closed her eyes, looking distraught. "But it must have been the fates deisgn for my love to have perished so early in his life." She smiled evily, her hand lowering. "It will be a simple enough rouse. Once you and Hanzo are married and Hanzo has been fully groomed for the position of head of the Shimada clan then those who would suspect any foul play would have no reason to complain or dispell the lies."

"You," Jun's eyes narrowed, "Are quite terrifiying Lady Ryoko." The elder woman grinned happily, taking it as a compliment.

"And in time my dear," Ryoko held out the sake container, nodding as Jun lifted her cup to fill once more. "You will be too."


	9. Hatchling

Yikes, I really went into the wilds, didn't I? I didn't mean to disappear for so long. To be honest, I sort of didn't expect it to get so much traction and had planned on it to end a different way-so I added a new subplot and ran into the need to do more plotting and it caused me to go on an unintended hiatus. Some other reasons I disappeared are:

I graduated college with an Associates in Applied Science and re-entered for a Bachelor's in English.

I placed in the 'Honorable Mention' place of the contest I entered (not as awesome as it sounds since it's ranked Honorable Mention, Silver Honorable Mention, Semi-Finalists, Finalists, and then 3rd to 1st place.) Out of the 250 that didn't make it to 1st, 2nd or 3rd place (not counting those rejected) -I was 196.

I started 2 more contest entries, participated and won NaNoWriMo 2018, prepped for 2019.

Unfortunately, it come the time when I have to start making some money in order to help with the bills and projects around the house (fix the roof, redo the bathroom floor and replace the shower/tub combo etc.). I will always post my free fanfics on Wattpad and here on Fanfic, but I've gotten a little desperate and opened up a tip jar on KO-FI

If you like what I've done so far and would like to help support me so I could go on to do other projects like this one-please think about supporting me through Ko-Fi, I don't like doing things like this…but a mother's gotta do what a mother's gotta do. Hubbys bread winning only goes so far, and when I get a job it will seriously eat into my writing time—both for original projects and for my fanfics.

I've also decided to expand my reach—One I am done with Winter Peony and "Through Her Eyes" *Companion book to Rosa & Thief, I'm going to put away Overwatch for a good long while and focus on other fandoms like RWBY, Legend of Zelda, Yu Yu Hakusho, Pokemon and more.

I've also thought about opening up commissions for one-shots through Ko-fi—unless specified these would be solely the requesters and wouldn't be up on my sites for anyone else to read. But for now, it's not an option. If you would enjoy this service, please do tell me.

Anyway, here is the link for the ko-fi and I hope that you all look forward to the updates which will becoming every Friday for now until I complete the story (Hopefully)

/fantasieseacape

The two women continued to talk into the night until Jun stifled a yawn, covering her mouth with her hand and stretching to relieve the taught feeling in her muscles. The sake container had been emptied during their discussions. Jun had not spoken much to Ryoko, despite being Hanzo's betrothed, and had taken the opportunity to make up for it. Politics, the families of the Spiral, Hanzo and Genji's upbringing, desires and plans for the upcoming wedding.

"I believe it is time we retire," Ryoko yawned in reply and chuckled as a servant shuffled in to clean the table. "You have had a long day, and I'm sure you're ready for some much-needed rest."

"Indeed," Jun slowly got to her feet, stretching her back and groaned. "I never knew how stiff and tired I could get. I feel as though I could sleep for two days straight."

"I would not think less of you for it," Ryoko got to her feet and stretched as well, "Sleep as long as you need. None of my guard will let what happened here today be told outside the family. And as long as there isn't any pressing matters, we should be left alone as far as the spiral is concerned." She waved the woman away as she was offered a glass of water, "I am going to have Shuzu interrogated first thing tomorrow morning for names of those he hired without my knowledge. It will be a test," She smiled as the servant opened the sliding door to the hallway. "If he gives up the names willingly and without any attempt at bargaining or demands—then I will lessen the time he will be locked away in the storeroom, and he may refresh himself with a bath, food and drink. But he will be watched, very closely." Ryoko gestured for Jun to follow her out into the hall.

"What if he does not comply?" Jun asked as she kept in step with the elder woman, "He has quite the high opinion of himself, and he proven himself to be the kind that doesn't give up easily."

"If I were the type to gamble," Ryoko smirked as they turned a corner and continued toward the bedrooms, "I would wager that he will try to command the guard while I am not present, as he had done with all his terrible little plans that caused this whole mess." She scoffed, her nose wrinkling in disgust at the thought, "He will find it impossible, with the orders I gave—the way the guard and servants have seen and heard of what I've done to him, the thoughts of what I will do to him circling about in whispers behind closed doors," She chuckled at the thought, a wicked smile spreading across her thin lips. "They know he is not to be trusted any longer. Not even for the measliest demands or requests."

"And you trust in them," Jun asked as Ryoko paused by a door that was opening by servants waiting inside. "To not do as he says? He's proven that he can't be trusted, and that he can fool your guard enough to follow through with orders without checking with you first?" Ryoko tilted her head slightly, her smile slowly melting away into a soft frown. "I do not doubt your power, Ryoko," Jun's tone was hard, absolute. "But he was able to puppeteer your servants and guard while your back was turned. How can you be sure they won't rally with him and start a coupe?"

"The men and women who listened faithfully to him where not of my house. My guard and servants have served the Shimada clan for generations, they don't move without my say so. When alone they are even brave enough to mock him at times." Ryoko explained as a woman inside the dark room muttered something about a stupid man and another unseen servant chuckled warmly, "But I was too liberal with Shuzu. I let him control some funds. Similar to a child's allowance, and with some money he's managed to smuggle away he was able to fund this whole debacle against your clan with sell swords and mercenaries that hold no loyalties but to those with the fattest purse." Her smile returned slowly. "And Shuzu has squandered every coin I allowed him to hold."

"I see," Jun returned the smile, "I take it that while we were being tended to that you had your guard turn out the sell swords?" Ryoko nodded once as a candle was lit inside the room to cast a dim light in what was revealed to be Ryoko's personal room. "That will help me sleep easier tonight."

Ryoko's eyes softened as she looked down to the matt under her bare feet, her smile fading into a sad frown. She sighed a deep, sorrowful sigh and closed her eyes. "I would hope it would help us all sleep easy tonight but knowing my sons the way a mother does I know they will sleep little if at all tonight, or the nights to come. Genji is most likely lying in his futon, trying his best to piece everything together. He is so much softer, so much more innocent than Hanzo," Her delicate brows creased, and her eyes clenched tightly, "I wonder if he is crying?"

"If it would help ease your mind, I may look in on Genji and see how he is doing?" Jun offered, thinking of Genji lying in bed, trying to cry silently pained her heart. He was younger than her, and even she was having a hard time handling everything that had come to pass, she couldn't imagine what he was thinking.

"No, I will send a servant to check," Ryoko's smile did not seem the warm, confident grin that Jun had come to recognize, but a painful tug on her heart told her she had seen the same smile before—on her own mother—when she was touched at something Jun had done or said as a child. "You should go to Hanzo and keep his anger in check as best as you can. As I said I know my sons. And I know that Hanzo is a proud and not only has his pride been wounded but he nearly lost you more than once in the past few days. He may grow too angry and seek to punish or taunt Shuzu in my absence. Go to him and calm him if you can. If he proves to provoked to listen, send someone to wake me and I will deal with him."

"Yes," Jun agreed, a seed of worry being planted in the back of her mind. She could easily see Hanzo sneaking his way to the to the storehouse and dismissing the guard to extract his own punishment on his father in the dark of night. The more she thought of this image the seed of doubt grew until she looked over her shoulder toward the end of the corner of the next hall that would lead to Hanzo's part of the estate.

"Go on then." Ryoko stepped inside her room and turned to face Jun. "But practice some restraint." When Jun looked at Ryoko with a confused blink the elder woman chuckled warmly. "I know the fires of young passion," She raised a brow and her smile reminded Jun of a fox to clever for its own wellbeing. "But it would not bode well to postpone the wedding because of an unplanned birth. Distract him how you must, but don't sew a seed we are not yet ready to nurture."

Jun tried to resist the blush fighting its way to her necks as she lowered her eyes to the floor as the doors started to slide but Ryoko stopped it just before it closed. "And one last thing hatchling," Ryoko's voice was firm and commanding, Jun's head immediately snapped up to look her in the eye. "If you find the temptation too much to resist, make your first mark small enough that it may be explained easily enough."

The door closed before Jun could ask what she meant, and she got the feeling that if Ryoko had wanted her to understand without question she would have told her plainly. Ryoko was not the kind of woman who liked to be misunderstood. Jun slowly turned away and began walking down the hall toward Hanzo's section of the estate, but to get there she had to pass the garden that connected the two sections. The right wall gave way to an open concept, the wrap around walkway cool with the breeze blowing in like some god blowing gently on the earth. The moon was full but hanging low over the garden wall, separating the Shimada's world from the outside.

The light spilled into the garden, giving it a serene but lonely air as Jun paused to look out among the trees and bushes that still had leaves, despite the frozen ground and snow littered about almost lovingly, like white blankets. Jun could see her breath as she slowly exhaled, the steam billowing out from her mouth like a dragon breathing fire. A Dragon. She thought to herself as she exhaled again, watching as the steam fade away.

She moved along the walkway, watching the panoramic scene stretch as she moved, undisturbed and tranquil until her eyes found a stark white building with a heavy wooden door. She scowled openly at the sight of it, the two guards keeping watch not speaking to one another as they stood on opposite sides of the small storehouse, glancing around the garden.

None of my guards will let what happened here today be told outside the family. Ryoko's words replayed in her mind. If you find the temptation too much to resist, make your first mark small enough that it may be explained easily enough.

She paused when she came to where the main houses ended and Hanzo's estate began, there was a walkway made of rounded white stones set into the ground that lead to the sizeable house that made up Hanzo's rooms. Halfway to the smaller house laid Shuzu's temporary prison. Jun was beginning to think that she understood Ryoko's last words, as a feeling of fire warmed her gut. It was anger. Hatred. Lust for revenge. She stepped off the walkway and onto the first stone, her steps measured and rigid in the cold until she reached the center of the path. The path split here, the longer going to Hanzo's home while the shorter led to the front of the storeroom.

The guard on the left noticed Jun first and snapped his fingers to alert the other. Jun could see a third guard poke their head around the backside of the building and whispers in the silence told her there were more unseen. She didn't offer any explanation, and she only hesitated before the split path for a moment—finally deciding to look upon her enemy, she stepped onto the diverging path. The guards didn't question her as she approached, they didn't try to stop her when she peeked into the small cut out in the door that made a window with small iron bars inlaid to keep anything from escaping through the hole.

The room was only dimly lit, slits in the top of the building serving as windows allowing the moonlight to sneak inside and command puppets made of shadows. Inside was Shuzu, stripped down to a bare, plain kimono asleep on a pile of straw that looked poorly heaped. She could see him shivering in the cold without a blanket or any means to keep warm, not even a candle to give him the illusion of heat.,

She put her hand to the door, feeling the icy wood under her fingertips as they blindly found the handle, the jolt of the metal bar made her pull her hand away for only a second before she grasped the handle and pulled, slowly opening the door. Shuzu never stirred as she stepped inside and pulled the door closed behind her. Though it was sheltered from the new fallen snow and wind, it did little to warm Jun as she stepped further inside, her footfalls silent and tender as she neared Shuzu until she was standing beside him.

While he was sleeping, he almost looked too innocent to have coldly slaughtered her family, but as Jun knelt down, she could see the lines beginning to show in his face.

She saw the lines by his eyes as the marks of the condescending looks, he had given, the smile line on his cheek from the sneers and chuckles he must have had to himself as he plotted and watched her family perish. The longer she looked at him, the shadows that stretched and framed his face, she began to see the monster under the skin. The heat in her gut rose, it scalded her insides until she found herself gritting her teeth and clenching her fists.

Her ears stung with the slight draft from the window, with her hair cut so short she was left without the measly layer of protection and it made her anger rise more, to the point she too was shivering. Not from cold, but pure fury. I wish I was a dragon. She thought heatedly, I would tear him apart and then roast him alive before I ate him like the animal he is.

She realized as she watched him shiver and his eyes peeled open sleepily, that she wished that she had brought a knife with her, but all she had was her own two hands. He had started to roll over onto his back when Jun found the words to speak.

"Showing your stomach to even a hatchling is not wise." Jun said flatly, half closing her eyes as he scrambled to sit up and back away from her, bellowing in fright at the sight of her. "Hello, Shuzu."

"I am lo-lor-lord Shimada to you, orphan!" Shuzu growled, getting to his feet with a little difficulty as Jun watched him with only mild interest as he ran to the door and called for the guards—who kept quiet. "Get in here, if Ryoko finds out something has happened to me, then she will have your throats rather than asses, quickly, someone remove her!"

"It would not be wise to wake everyone in the house, Shuzu. Wouldn't want to invoke the wrath of your lady wife and angered son lose your head tonight." Jun warned pointedly, glaring up at him as he turned to stare open-mouthed at her. She lowered her gaze to the worn spot in the hay where he had been sleeping.

"I'm not here to murder you, although every bone in my body is telling me I should." She looked back up at him, trying to keep her composure as she spoke. Taming the rage inside into a controlled flame. "To avenge my parents is very high on my list of aspirations," She got to her feet slowly, dusting the dirt and hay away until she was satisfied and walked to the door slowly.

"Ryoko has bestowed on me, my first lesson as a Shimada woman. She said, 'Dragons start off as small hatchlings, but grow quickly. They are hard to get rid of, harder to kill and never let a wrong go unpunished for long.' This hatchling remembers Shuzu, know your punishment is coming and that I hold the uttermost contempt for you." She walked past him and then glared hatefully at him. "Get back in your bed and try your best to rest. Ryoko plans to visit you tomorrow and you don't want to be falling asleep while you explain yourself to her in full, now would you?" She copied Ryoko's sly, confident smirk as he backed away from the door obediently.

Jun felt a surge of power inside her, she liked making him afraid. She relished in that horrified stare he gave her, his eyes wide with fear and panic. Like an animal trapped in a cage to await its fate at the hands of someone much more powerful. She opened the door and stepped through, leaving it open and stepping away, to test him—see how he would react. He slunk backward to the hay pile before collapsing on top of it, shivering much more severely than when he was asleep.

She put her back to the door and walked away, following the path back to the split and turned, heading toward Hanzo's house. The servants nodded silent greetings to her as they opened doors and let her find her own way to Hanzo's room. She slid the door open to see Hanzo was lying in bed, his face angry and contorted. Jun had seen Hanzo look angry. He often looked angry while awake or thinking, but this was different. There was unadulterated pain mixed with his anger, his dreams were tormented, and he saw no way out. His dark brows knit together as he groaned in his sleep, shifting in his futon until he had rolled onto his side on the far-right side. She could hear him grinding his teeth.

Jun nodded to the servant at the end of the hall before stepping inside, making her way to the futon before slipping under the blankets that Hanzo had pulled over him and cuddling up to him, her body melting against his. His body jerked in response to the cold before rolling over and wrapping Jun up in his arms. She watched after tucking herself against him as his expression slowly changed.

His jaw relaxed and the tenseness in his brow melted away as he let out a relaxed sigh and his breathing became steady. The warmth from his body and the soothing sounds of his sleeping breath lulled Jun into relaxing herself and slipping into sleep.


	10. Hatching A Plan

The next morning [Y/N] woke slow and easy, aware of her body lying on the floor. Her memory began to flicker to life, a draft bringing a reminder that her hair had been hacked away into a short style, unlike any that she had in her life. She recalled the anger at Shuzu, Hanzo's father for belittling her verbally and beating her while threatening her future—until Lady Shimada, Ryoko, came into the scene and put a stop to it. Her mind became less muddied as she shifted under the thick covers, keeping her eyes closed as an attempt to deny the fact she was waking up.

There was shifting under the thick blanket and [Y/N] felt her body twitch in response as she became aware of the larger body beside her. Slowly she opened her eyes, blinking away the last remnants of sleep as Hanzo's body came into focus. He was still asleep, her archer, his face relaxed and calm in a way she had not seen before.

His face was not the perfected mask of reservation that he wore when he was awake, he seemed truly at ease, lost to the worries and turmoil of their waking life. [Y/N] felt a pull on her heart, as if some unseen force was toying with it, pulling it both up and down. She felt her eyes prickle with tears, a heat spreading through her chest like fire. There had been a chance, just the day before that she could never have seen this side of Hanzo. She might not have ever seen him again if Shuzu had been successful in his plot.

The heat intensified with the thought of loosing Hanzo forever, the cool draft was soon forgotten, and the inviting warmth of the cover became smothering. She raised herself up to a sitting position, glancing around the room for any eyes but found they were alone for the moment. The shifting of weight in the futon caused Hanzo to stir slightly, rolling over onto his side to face [Y/N] and adjust himself so he lay comfortably beside her. Tentatively [Y/N] reached down and moved a stray lock of Hanzo's long black hair away from his neck, smiling down at him before stroking his hair gently so not to wake him. His breathing was light and his hair silky to her touch, it made her think of her own hair and she worried if Hanzo would be able to cope with her new shorter style now that the immediate danger was over.

She put her hand to her own hair and felt the short locks tickle her hand as she ran her fingers over her scalp. The anger began to build again, this time prompting her to leave the comfort of the bed, despite a twinge of guilt for leaving Hanzo alone—but she did not want him to wake and see her fuming with anger. He didn't deserve that after the events of the day before, he deserved time to rest and relax. There would be time for anger and tension for him, but for now, she wanted to preserve his peacefulness.

[Y/N] tiptoed her way to the door and as she slipped outside, she cast a longing look over her shoulder to Hanzo's sleeping form. She wished that she wasn't so angry, that she could climb back into the bed and take comfort in his presence, to deny the outside world and its troubles until they were forced back into it. She closed the door softly, savoring the last view before turning and striding down the hall toward the main rooms of the estate. She wanted to talk more with Ryoko, to find the next logical course of action and ask in greater detail about Shuzu's punishment and Hanzo's grooming, as well as her own training.

 _Time is precious now_ , [Y/N] thought to herself as she stepped out into the garden path that lead past the storehouse and toward the main house. _We can't afford to get too comfortable. If anyone outside the Shimada's learn that I am an orphan they will move in on my home and steal away the assets. Without those I have no sway, no power within the spiral. Other lords will want to marry off their daughters to Hanzo and Genji to secure their position. Ryoko is powerful and formidable, but I do not think even she could stand up to the spiral alone, and who in their right mind would anger the other families for the sake of a noble in love with an unfortunate orphan?_

She had pushed away the unpleasant thought as she neared Ryoko's private room, nodding to the servant who called into the room for her.

"Lady Shimada, Lady [L/N] is here." The young woman spoke respectfully and gently but loud enough to be heard through the doors.

"Send her in," Ryoko's voice was light and [Y/N] would have sworn that he heard a hint of a chuckle in her words. The servant pulled one of the doors open enough that [Y/N] could walk through, when she did she found Ryoko being groomed by two servant women, one combing her long black hair while the other gathered sections to be pulled into one of the elegant styles that [Y/N] had come to know. "Good morning my dear, it seems more or less common courtesy to ask how you slept, though I wager it was not well—given the prior days events."

"I actually slept pretty well, given the circumstance." [Y/N] started to say more but caught the eye of one of the servants and decided to keep quiet instead. Ryoko raised a delicate brow as [Y/N] closed her mouth and cast her eyes to the ground.

"You've already learned a hard lesson hatchling." Ryoko smiled as the first servant finished combing through her long locks and handed the strand of hair off to the second as servant as she placed it in the looping style she had created. The hair resembling a butterfly kept in place by several decorative hair pins.

[Y/N] didn't lift her eyes until the women had been dismissed and Ryoko rose to her feet. "You don't want to divulge sensitive information to anyone you don't trust. You know that you have to have trust in me, but that doesn't extend to those in service. They could easily betray you if it meant pleasing whoever it is they serve." [Y/N] simply lifted her eyes, watching as Ryoko walked to the other side of the room and began slipping into a kimono. "You've already learning, and I don't need to tell you that we have to be very careful until you and Hanzo are wed."

"I was going to ask about that," [Y/N]'s voice wavered, she could feel a nest of squirming worms in her stomach, knotting themselves into a mess with her growing worry. She saw Ryoko adjust the layers of her kimono delicately, listening with one ear turned toward her. "Should we move the wedding up, and how soon could we move it up without drawing suspicion?"

Ryoko let out a "hm" before turning back to face [Y/N], her face slowly darkening with thought. Her eyes narrowed as she walked back to [Y/N]. "The marriage would solve our biggest problems, but I want to see if you know what they are."

[Y/N] did not hesitated, "The Spiral finding out that my father, head of the [L/N] clan has been assassinated," She wrung her hands together, half in nerves and half in anger. "If the clans more central to the spire find out that my house has been eliminated they will peck away at my father's lands and assets like vultures amongst themselves. If they find out that we decided to keep the marriage arrangement they may sense weakness in the Shimada clan and conspire to have you all killed as well to make room for a…more ruthless family."

"Indeed." Ryoko crossed her arms and nodded for the younger woman to continue with her line of thought.

"So we have to keep up a charade that my father is still alive, keep my estate in working order and forge the documents that have my fathers estate transferred into Hanzo's name at the marriage ceremony. Then it will no longer belong to the [L/N] clan but the Shimada clan. No one will care if the former head of the estate has died, as long as the new one is in control. The Spiral will have no need to battle against the Shimada clan if we can fool them into thinking that all is well within the two homes…" [Y/N] trailed off, biting her lip. "But how?"

"That is one of the smaller problems we must face, solve and bury beyond the shadow of doubts." Ryoko explained, she shuffled from her spot to another, and then back again. Her pace smooth, measured and with purpose.

"You said that no one outside the family and some trusted servants know about everything that has went on…right?" [Y/N] put a hand to her mouth, gently pulling on her bottom lip as her mind raced with thoughts. Ryoko stopped her pacing and looked down to [Y/N] with a guarded stare.

"Yes, and unless any of Shuzu's little rats have managed to escape…" She paused she looked toward a dark corner of the room. "Which is very unlikely…then the only people who are aware of your fathers passing are you, myself, Shuzu, my sons and a handful of trusted servants that cleaned up the tea room and prepared your father for burial." Her face turned dark, her eyes narrowing hatefully at the corner, as if she could see Shuzu standing there, "At least Shuzu had the sense to see to that correctly. Now to fabricate a believable and backable story to fool those who may ask questions."

Both women fell silent for a time, [Y/N] shifting her weight nervously from her position on the floor as Ryoko went back to pacing. After a few moments Ryoko began growling in frustration, her brows knitting together and her teeth clenched in an angry snarl as her pacing quickened, almost stomping. "We need a story to tell that will keep your father out of sight of anyone who might wish to see him until we can announce his death…but what?"

[Y/N] sat in tormented silence, half of her was cursing Shuzu for putting his family in this situation. If he had simply allowed the marriage to follow through, none of this would be happening. Hanzo, Genji, Ryoko and the rest of the Shimada clan would be safe. Her father would still be alive and plots would not need to be thought of. The other half was flipping through thoughts like paper in a book, trying to find the solution they needed quickly. As time wore on, her stomach began to sour, and she knew Hanzo would be waking soon—she wanted nothing more than to separate both of them from the mess entirely and go back to planning their wedding happily.

Without warning, her thoughts seemed to quell. Her mind was silent, at peace as a memory surfaced. Once, when she was but a child, she had fallen ill. To ensure a swift recovery and to keep it from spreading—her father had placed her in a room off to itself and only the doctor and a single maid were allowed to spend time with her. The doctor to tend to her sickness and the maid to tend to her every need. She had almost went stir-crazy locked in the single room, she remembered being bored and almost wishing she was at the Shimada estate during the time, at least Genji would have snuck into her rooms through the ceiling. She remembered the terrible fever and chills that had taken her and her asking the doctor through tears if she was going to die.

"Sickness." [Y/N] said flatly, meant to be more to herself than to Ryoko, but the older woman heard and froze in her place. Slowly, she turned her head to face her, leaning toward her to hear more clearly. "We could say…" [Y/N] held out a hand, her thoughts slowly coming together, "That my father has fallen too ill to make the trip home, and sent me and Hanzo to keep things sustained at the estate until he can return…" She spoke slowly, watching as Ryoko curled a finger over her thin lips, her eyes scanning the ground in thought. "The Shimada family has the funds to access better care than my family, it would make sense to entrust the last living adult of the [L/N] clan to the care of better doctors and keep things in order until their return."

"Or until the passing of the assets to the new son-in-law…just before their untimely death." Ryoko's words were purred, the corners of her mouth slowly curling upward as her dark eyes glinted. [Y/N] felt a small shiver of fear run through her, [Y/N] could swear Ryoko became more dragon like with every passing moment.

"What about the burial?" [Y/N] asked, feeling a flood of dread pass through her—the lie seemed easy enough until this point. The servants and family would rightfully expect a burial—they wouldn't be able to preserve a corpse to pass it as recently deceased in the time it would take to execute the ruse.

"By then Shuzu will have worn out his usefulness. With the marriage ceremony completed, Shuzu will step down as the 'head' of the clan." Ryoko waved her hand dismissively with a scoff, obviously disgusted. "Hanzo will become the head of the Shimada line, we can kill Shuzu off—wrap him up for the funeral, claim that the sickness did irreparable damage to the skin and don't want to risk the disease spreading. We burn him on a pyre, call him by your father's name and consider it dealt with. Who goes wondering about the dead men anyway? It is the breathing ones that everyone needs to be wary of."

"And what of the doctors or maids that would tend to my father during this time?" [Y/N] asked, "Who would you name when others would ask? The head of a clan falls ill enough to pass, who would you charge with keeping up the lie?"

"As a clan close to the center of the Spiral, the Shimada clan has our own private selection of doctors. They work only when we call for them, only for ourselves and in return we take care of them and their families. I would choose our eldest, most loyal physician. He will be able to fabricate a faux disease for your father to succumb to peacefully."

"And he has no connection to other Spiral members?"

"None. He lives on the Shimada estate and lives a simple life, aside from being called on when my sons, or myself got sick. He does not even need to go to a market for his wares and food. We provide it all for him, and have since he was young. He is an elderly man now, with children and grandchildren who also live on the Shimada estate and have their own jobs. They are fiercely loyal." She grinned a mischievous grin that made a part of [Y/N] worry—she never wanted Ryoko as an adversary.

Ryoko kneeled in front of [Y/N] and put a cool hand under her chin, [Y/N] fought to ignore the initial flinch, both at the unexpected touch, and the coolness of her skin. "You my dear are going to raise the Shimada clan many levels with my son by your side. Together you two could change the very world itself, should you put your sharp mind to use for such a feat. I am so relieved to have a daughter with such a…" She paused and released [Y/N]'s chin, sitting back on her knees, "Bright mind." She clapped her hands and called for the servants to return, getting to her feet. The women began tying her obi and adjusting her kimono until she looked like the noble lady that she was supposed to be, [Y/N] had a moment of thought that it was much like a mask. Ryoko was a fierce storm, concealed behind a pretty exterior.

Ryoko only made light small talk between orders to the servants about daily duties. Shuzu was still to be kept inside the storeroom between the main estate and Hanzo's rooms and was to be denied any food, and given minimal water and clothing to sustain him until Ryoko commanded otherwise. She made plans for breakfast and ordered that Hanzo and Genji be seen to, and kept away from the storeroom until she had a chance to talk with them at length about their father and the future of the clan. They would all have to play their part if the ruse was going to work.

When Ryoko was dressed and the servants were dismissed she glanced down at [Y/N] still sitting in the floor, "You haven't dressed for the day yet my dear." The older woman gave her a motherly smile and held out her hand to help her get to her feet. "No matter what goes on behind closed doors hatchling, we as women must keep up our appearances. If nothing more than giving a façade that everything is as it should be. No matter how we feel on the inside, we must give the image that we are fine." She gestured for [Y/N] to follow her as she walked toward the door. "Although no one outside the family will see us, we must keep in practice."

"I understand Lady Shimada." [Y/N] responded and straightened her back, using her hands to smooth out her kimono before smiling at Ryoko with confidence, though only in appearance.

"Good little hatchling."


	11. Snakes in the Garden

Ryoko and [Y/N] made their way toward the engawa. When they reached the wrap around walkway the two women stopped to take in the early morning glow on the remaining flowers in the garden. [Y/N] glanced at Ryoko, watching as the elder woman stared at the storage house where Shuzu was being held. [Y/N] couldn't read her expression, it was masked perfectly with impassiveness.

"Lady Shimada…" [Y/N] blinked, watching as Ryoko raised her brows and looked down to her with a gentle smile. "If its not to bold to ask…did you ever…" Her gaze floated toward the storage house as she tried to delicately pick her words.

"Love him?" Ryoko asked with a chuckle. "I did…when I was a hatchling. Like I told you, I was a lot like you when I was young. I did not like anyone telling me what to do and telling me that I 'couldn't' do things. Shuzu was a lot like Hanzo in his youth. He was the only man who could keep up with me, and could hope to try and tame me." Her eyes slowly drifted away, not to the storeroom but the sky, her smile slowly faded and the tenseness around her eyes softened. "We didn't like each other at first, but once we started spending time with one another, we began to see the good in each other. Or so I believed."

"Like Hanzo and I." [Y/N] smiled, "When we first met, I found him infuriating." This spurred some chuckling from Ryoko who continued to listen. "Then we had that accident and I saw a different side of him."

"Accident?" Ryoko's eyes widened in fear and concern. "What accident? Why didn't anyone tell us?" [Y/N] covered her mouth with one of her hands and looked down, "How long ago was this? Tell me [Y/N]."

"It was ages ago my lady," [Y/N] showed her the hand that Hanzo had injured, "I was reading in the garden but Hanzo had disappeared. He wanted to play a prank on me, to scare me. So, he shot an arrow where I had been sitting but I went back to get a scroll. I caught the arrow, but it scratched my hand and caused it to bleed." Ryoko took her hand and turned it over, making a small noise when [Y/N] pointed out the thin pink scar on her hand from the arrows path. "It was the first time that Hanzo called me by my first name informally. He was worried he had hurt me badly, and kept demanding I show him the wound. He tended to it himself and wrapped it with a ribbon from his hair. I told my father I had been practicing with a kunai and cut myself when we returned home."

"I had heard your father mention that you had been put through some training." Ryoko let go of her hand and turned away from the garden, following along the walkway toward another part of the house. "It will prove useful, should you keep it sharp. Skills are like blades, if not properly cared for, kept in use, they will rust and ruin. Dull and fade."

[Y/N] kept up, walking along at a steady pace. The morning air was crisp and cool, she found it refreshing as she glanced over her shoulder to Hanzo's part of the estate. She thought back to her lessons: the brutal exercises, the seemingly endless hours spent in pain, learning to tolerate and harness her bodies abilities. She thought of the scars on her back, the tears she had cried, and the blood she had shed both on purpose and from failed lessons. She felt the memory of triumph, the thrill of forcing her enemy to submit, the jolt of energy that came with the danger. [Y/N] clenched her hands and looked up to Ryoko, squaring her shoulders. "Although Harashi-sensei has died, I want to continue training. I must find a teacher willing—"

"No need my dear," Ryoko purred as she turned to face her future-daughter-in-law, "You can pick up your training under Genji's teacher." Her smile slowly faded, "It truly was a loss your Lord father and teacher were killed. They could have been valuable assets. Men who have stepped down from the head of families still have more outside power than women married to the current head of the clan." Her dark eyes glinted as she looked toward the walls that surrounded the estate, "You can't manipulate dead men as much as the living ones." She sighed as she rubbed her eyes with one of her hands, pinching the skin above her nose. "Come, lets head to the kitchens and see about breakfast and something to drink, then we can get our day going properly."

"Mistress." A voice from a closed door on [Y/N]'s left startled her, making her jump and put distance between her and the sliding door. It was a female servant, plainly dressed in a grey colored servant's clothes, "We have received a letter."

"From what family?" Ryoko asked, raising a brow as she held out her hand. The servant shuffled forward and presented the letter before bowing and returning to her place in the doorway.

"Kobayashi, mistress."

Ryoko groaned, rolling her eyes and shaking her head. "A festering sore on top of a headache—problems seem to keep piling up." She opened the letter and began scanning the page, her face scrunching up—her pretty mask of impassive confidence distorted into a war-mask of rage and hatred. She growled angrily and clenched the letter in her hand. "Ready the guest rooms, the Kobayashi women will be here before tomorrow is done."

"Lady Ryoko?" [Y/N] asked, watching as the maid nodded and closed the door—dismissed with orders.

"We must move on hatchling," Ryoko was still growling, her hands still clenched at her sides. "I had hoped for more time to breathe but it seems we will not have time for rest. We must keep moving. Tell me, do you know of the Kobayashi clan?" Without waiting for [Y/N] to answer, Ryoko spun on her heel and stormed down the walkway the way she came, heading back toward her room on the inside of the house.

"Kobayashi…" [Y/N] walked behind Ryoko, eyes scanning the floor as her mind raced in thought. "They are a family a little higher standing than mine was," [Y/N] glanced up, the ridged muscles in her mentors shoulders struck a chord of fear in her. "Their trades are in military forces and they own several businesses of various types. Restaurants, hot springs, bath houses…brothels and the like. Good for money laundering, running up debts to those who can't pay and gaining soldiers by offering to pay off their debts through servitude to the military or to families willing to buy them in exchange for paying off their debt to the family and become the new debt in which the people owe."

"What else?" Ryoko snapped, turning sharply to re-enter the house and storm down the hall.

"The head of the clan is Masahiro. The wife's name is Ayame, they have one child—the heir to the clan. They are considered social butterflies, the lot of them. They often hold parties in their home, and have been called brazen by other more cautious members of the spiral."

"Male or female?" Ryoko didn't stop at her own room, instead she barreled past; servants scrambled to get out of the way and bow their heads in respect as Ryoko snapped her fingers, waving her index finger for them to follow her into the tea room where she and [Y/N] had spent most of the night in.

"The heir is female, her name is Tora, she's around my age." [Y/N] told her, speeding up so not to be lost in the growing number of servants tagging along now. "Why would they decide to make such a visit? I know sometimes meetings between families who do business together isn't unusual, but you told the other servant girl that it would be the women who were coming. Will Lord Kobayashi not be joining them?"

"I will explain myself only once," Ryoko told her curtly as she stopped outside the closed doors to the tea room, waiting for the servant to open them for her, "I will tell everyone at once." She stalked into the room, taking her place at the table with an angry grunt as everyone filed in behind her. [Y/N] placed herself to the left side of the table while the servants kneeled or stood by the doors. "The Kobayashi women have taken offense that I had refused to visit their home at their invitation and have not invited them as an apology and have had the brilliant idea to invite themselves to our home as guests to make up for this faux pau." Her words dripped with anger and venom as she spoke, a vein in her neck jerking with the intense pulse. "They will be here before the day is out tomorrow so we must prepare for high status guests. I want the guest rooms cleaned to perfection and the bath house scrubbed so clean I see myself in the wood and stones." The servants bowed in response but didn't leave. Ryoko opened her mouth to speak again but hesitated, her dark eyes landing on [Y/N], making her slightly flinch in response. "You will be taking the mantle before long. You take over, tell me hatchling, what else is needed to set the house in order for guests?"

[Y/N] paniced for a moment, her mother usually took care of matters of the home and guest tending. She had not been formally taught how to prepare a whole house for guests. "I suppose once the guest rooms are cleaned they should be prepped with fresh bedding and linen, candles and house-shoes so that they Kobayashi women want for naught. Then, once the bath house has been scrubbed clean, it would be the restroom, tea rooms and the hallways next to be cleaned— more places guests will be spending parts of their time." She watched as Ryoko's head tilted ever-so-slightly in approval and she began to speak more loudly, "Then the food storage should be tallied, restocked and prepped for larger meals. There will be three more mouths to feed and the Kobayashi clan is used to higher standards.

"Once that is done, the garden and outside areas around the gates should be cleared of debris caused by weather or what have you, it will be some of the first sights the guests see and we wouldn't want them to think the Shimada clan has gone slack…or suffered in circumstance to allow their house to fall away from routine."

"Good, little hatchling." Ryoko smiled, "You continue to impress me." She waved her hand and took the attention of the servants, "That is enough chores for now, see to these tasks and report back when they are done." She waved her hand again and dismissed everyone, watching as they left quietly and quickly to avoid setting her on edge again. "However," She spoke a moment after the door slid closed. "There is a problem you didn't address to them and I want to know your reasoning."

"Shuzu in the storehouse." [Y/N] did not waste time in answering, it as been a thunderous thought that refused to silence itself since the letter had first been read, but she knew there would be time to sort him out when her and her mother-in-law were alone. The less who were informed on Shuzu's predicament the better. "We can't leave him there obviously, the Kobayashi women will wonder where the Lord has gone, but we can't allow him to roam freely, even under threat of punishment. He is sly and could try to put himself back into a position of power, to betray you Lady Ryoko and drive Hanzo and I apart."

"Indeed. I wouldn't dare turn him loose, not even without guests in the house. Though I do trust the servants to not disobey me when I tell them to disregard him, I do not put it past him to sneak some word out to someone else in an attempt to save himself. Although all of his hired swords were dealt with, he may have a third party where he hires his mercenaries. We can't take a chance on him getting word to them that he needs reinforcements under the guise of servants or…"

[Y/N] watched as a familiar look passed over Ryoko's face. The wrinkle of pure hatred around her eyes, the pinch of skin above her nose raising and the grit of her teeth—[Y/N] now understood where Hanzo's anger flares came from and which parent he took after. It didn't take long for the same spark of anger to ignite in her own belly, "Guests."

"It seems Shuzu has released snakes into our beautiful little garden hatchling." Ryoko growled through her clenched teeth. "And his plan is a lot more complicated than I gave him credit for." She jumped to her feet, knocking the table with her knee hard, but ignoring the pain as she went for the door, not waiting for the servant to open it at a decent speed, rather she threw it open and bolted down the hall; not bothering to see if [Y/N] was following, or if the young female servant had recovered from the shock.

[Y/N] followed as quick as she could, her bare feet thumping against the hardwood, feeling the exciting rush of adrenaline streak through her system and awaken each sense until her body hummed. The anger in her stomach was growing with each footfall, her thoughts racing.

This bastard took my family into his home, treated me like a daughter, and I fell for it. I let him puppeteer me like a doll on strings. He's paired with another powerful house to wed Hanzo to another woman and thinks I will roll over and show my belly like a lame dog!

Her thoughts became angry shouts, her anger pushing her into a blind rage as she and Ryoko thundered their way to the garden and down the stone path to the storehouse. The guards, seeing the angry looks on the women's faces, knew better than to ask and flung the doors open long before they reached them—turning their backs and shutting their ears with their hands as they rushed inside. [Y/N] held just enough sense to whirl around and slam the doors shut as Ryoko found Shuzu cowering behind an unmarked crate. He yelped and cowered as the woman grabbed him by the scruff of his neck like an animal and guided him to the hay pile where he made his bed.

"THE KOBAYASHI'S?" She snarled, teeth bared and face flushed with fury. "You sold your sons to the KOBAYASHI'S?"

"I-I-I-" Shuzu couldn't get more out as he shook with fear, his eyes lowered to the dirt floor as [Y/N] whirled on him and glared.

"You would see us all to our deathbeds you ignorant worm!" Ryoko snarled, grabbing him by his hair and pulling his head back to reveal his throat. "Do you realize what you have done?"

"Try—try—" Shuzu sputtered, putting his hands together in prayer as he clenched his eyes shut. "Fur-fur-further—"

"Silence!" Ryoko growled shaking him by the hair on his head, making him whimper and shake. "You got the sell swords from the Kobayashi clan, plotting with them to do in the [L/N] clan in an attempt to gain the most of their assets to share with the Kobayashi when Hanzo married Tora—was that your stupid little scheme?" When the man only offered whimpers she shook him hard, "Answer!"

"Yes!" Shuzu panted, trying to find his strength and courage, swallowing with difficulty with his head tilted back so far. "I was try-trying to life the clan—with the clothing trade and medical fields the [L/N] clan possessed we could have taken the fields and left the clothing to the Kobayashi's we could have had a better arrangement—the Shimada clan could have grown in size and be double what we are now with them as allies!"

"Then why would you not simply offer Genji up in marriage to Tora?" [Y/N] growled hatefully, her pulse pounding like war drums in her ears. "Genji is the more sociable of the two brothers, he would have been a perfect fit for the Kobayashi girl." She walked forward, resisting the urge to lay harm to his face with her nails. She wanted to drag them down his face, to bring blood to match the blood he had spilt from her family. She wanted to gouge out his eyes and listen to him howl, but a higher understanding stilled her hands by her sides as Ryoko tilted his head so he could see her and answer her demands.

"Why would I do that when I could have lifted my clan higher?" Shuzu growled back, pulling against Ryoko's hold like a dog at the end of its chain. "Why settle for two clans' earnings when I could have easily acquired three? Eliminate some competition, lift the house, have it all?"

[Y/N] narrowed her [e/c] eyes at him, "No…no that's giving too much credit to you…You're too short sighted to have thought that far…" She muttered, her anger and lust for blood shifting focus. "This was their idea—wasn't it? The Kobayashi clan…" [Y/N] reached out and grabbed Shuzu's kimono and bent down to his face, pressing her nose against his. "Tora…she wants Hanzo…is that it? She wouldn't settle for Genji, she wanted the eldest Shimada son. To the wife to the head of the clan—second brother is second best and therefore a loss to her. Can't have her socialite status muddied with second choice of a husband. Why be a commoner when you could be an empress?"

Shuzu was perfectly still in the women's dual grip, but a shift in his pupils gave [Y/N] all the proof she wanted and needed to let him go and step away. [Y/N] could feel the world itself shifting under her feet, the figures of Ryoko—standing shocked and livid, and Shuzu still on his knees, held in place by his hair—seemed very far away to her. The pounding of her heart in her ears drowned out even her own foot falls as she turned and made her way to the door of the storehouse. There were muffed voices, but she could not tell with certainty if they were from Ryoko or Shuzu—perhaps it was one of the guards calling after her as she pushed open the storehouse door and walked away. She stopped in the center of the garden and looked into the empty space that was the sky.

I should be panicking. She told herself, I should be alit with anger. I should want their blood to spill, their clan to pay for their sneaky deals. But she felt the emptiness around her, and she knew exactly what she wanted. She wanted to be sitting on the engawa with Hanzo. To be having tea and snacks as they watched Genji practice his sword play in the garden—begging for their attention to the new move he had yet to master. To see Hanzo smile warmly at her and to know peace that felt as if it had abandoned her long ago. Since the day they discovered her mother murdered in her own tea-room, she had not known true peace—since that day her life had been slowly spiraling out of control. Everything she had thought she knew had been wrong. Her feelings for Hanzo, about the approaching marriage, the Shimada parents. Everything had been turned on its head and spun backwards.

Time was as lost to her as sound and sight, she didn't know how long she had been standing there before someone touched her arm gently. She flinched only slightly, turning to see Hanzo staring at her with worry, words still warm on his lips—words that had been lost to the wind on her.

"What?" [Y/N] asked, blinking back into her proper mind-set. "I'm sorry Hanzo, what did you say?"

"You had me worried," He said softly, putting his large hands on her shoulders and staring at her face, taking in her features slowly. "You were just standing here, the guards say you walked like you were possessed…and you didn't hear me when I called to you."

"Lost to thought," She mumbled, her mind clearing a bit as the sense of dread receded. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you—have you been awake long?"

"A while, looking for you!" Hanzo gave her a grim frown, his brow knitting not in anger but concern. "You slipped away from bed and I was afraid Fath-Shuzu had something happen to you while I slept, I've been running through my rooms looking for you. Has he hurt you? What has you so troubled."

"Visitors." She said softly, putting one hand on his, looking down to his sandaled feet—realizing then that hers were bare and the cold was seeping into her toes with the absence of her inner heat. "The women of the Kobayashi clan are coming to visit your estate."

"And?" Hanzo raised a brow, confused as to how this was cause for alarm.

[Y/N] opened her mouth to explain the situation in full to him, and then stopped. If she told Hanzo the truth of the events about to unfold in his lap, he may try to get revenge on her behalf—since the Kobayashi Lord would not be with the women, he wouldn't do anything to harm them—and instead target the wrong person.

"I worry if they find out about father," [Y/N] wiped at her eyes, although they were dry and tilted her head down, not wanting to Hanzo to see she was only pretending to be forlorn. She buried herself against his chest and squeezed him tightly. "There are so many people who would keep us apart Hanzo, and I fear it greatly." She shivered in the cold and was grateful when he wrapped his arms around her firecly and squeezed back, trying to warm her and comfort her.

"They will not, and even if they should try—they'll have my arrows to answer to and Genji's blades. He loves you as much as I do and does not wish to see you removed from our world. He was the one to wake me—"

"Hanzo—I haven't—YOU FOUND HER!" Genji's voice startled both the youths into looking toward the main house as Genji stood under the shelter of the engawa and put his hand over his heart. "Thank the gods, we were afraid you had slipped off into the night or worse—were taken!"

"I'm fine," [Y/N] mustered a soft chuckle before a sniff, the chill slipping past her kimono and into her bones. "Just cold I'm afraid."

"Let's get you inside by a fire," Hanzo said quietly, rubbing her shoulders in an attempt to warm her further, "You'll catch your death out here in those thin clothes. You should change and get warmed up."

"A fire sounds nice," [Y/N] admitted, wrapping her arms around herself and turning toward the main house when she was struck with half a thought. As Hanzo stepped around her she pulled on his sleeve, "My dragon?" She caught the shade in his cheeks as he blushed, fighting for control of his emotions before he looked back at her. "Would you mind if we took tea in the room where father was killed? I…I want to face my emotions about it before…before the guests arrive. It would not due for me to cry like a punished child when we go back into the room. If I should be overcome, let it be now, before I make a fool of myself."

"As you wish," Hanzo nodded, hearing the hurt tone to her words and nodding to Genji. As the boys walked toward the servants quarters, [Y/N] made her way to the room that had been given to her during her stay with the Shimada's. It had been the same during the turns of the season and she had come to know it well. Closing the door to her room she listened intensely, weighing the thought that had occurred to her, only half thought through. A fire.

She chose her kimono carefully, one of brilliant red, gold and white, showcasing flowers along the sleeves and bottom of the kimono, the obi was meant to look like a rising sun. She called for servants and asked if the tearoom had been made up. The servant girls head bobbed silently as she tied the obi quickly at [Y/N]'s request. "I would like to hurry back to Hanzo's side." She explained as the two women finished helping her dress. When they left [Y/N] gripped her hands together tightly before leaving her room herself, going quietly down the hall. Her soft footfalls such a contrast to her earlier heated pursuit of answers, left her heart fluttering as though she were walking on the tips of blades, danger only one slip up away.

A chill passed through her when she came to a stop. The tea room door was in front of her now, closed as it had been since the day of the attack. Shuzu had seen to it that, past the cleaning of the room, it had gone untouched and sealed from tampering. Ryoko had echoed the command, but the plan forming in [Y/N]'s head called for use of the room, and it called for her emotions to be held in check. She pushed the door to the side and fought the tears as they welled up in her eyes, the thunderous pounds of her heart—like someone beating her with a stone. It was almost exactly as it had been that day, the table was set for tea to be made, candles were lit in the corners of the room to give light but the opposite side of the room was closed off from the engawa to keep out the chill of cold weather.

[Y/N] made her way slowly, each step measured and forced as she crept closer to the table. The cushions were still set in the same arrangement, with an extra pillow on one corner for her to sit next to Hanzo. She looked up to the ceiling, feeling eyes on her as she remembered bodies tumbling down from the ceiling. A dull ache in her side from the knife wound she had gained during the skirmish. She remembered how Hanzo had comforted her, held her hand and talked her through the pain. How defensive he got of her to his father, going as far as to challenge his rule and commands.

It's my turn to defend you, my dragon. [Y/N] thought to herself as she turned around in the room, looking at all the corners before walking toward one of the candle holders. And I will draw my last breath before I let someone take you from me.


	12. Snake Nest

Jun pulled her injured hand to her chest, covering it with her free hand as she closed her eyes. Her face and ears were flushed—heat was radiating from her. She was sure that she was steaming in the cool air like a dying fire or a newly forged sword quenched in water. Hold, Hanzo's voice rang in her ear as she breathed deeply, Hold...

"Jun?" Jun's eyes opened at the call of her name, it was Genji—she knew by the sound of his voice, but she couldn't see him. "Up here." She looked up to see the young man looking awkwardly at her from the roof of the engawa, peeking over the edge. "Are you okay?"

She quickly hid her hurt hand behind her and nodded slowly, looking down to the wooden floor, hoping that the color would drain from her face and not give away how upset she had been just a moment ago. She could hear Genji shifting on the roof above and peeked up to see him watching her, his doe-brown eyes wide with concern.

"I'm fine Genji, really."

"She's...not a nice person...is she?" He asked softly, looking to the spot where Tora had reentered the house.

"Genji, were you spying on me again?" Jun tried to make it a joke, but she heard the hollowness in her voice and felt a twist to her heart. She wanted to keep Genji shielded from this—for multiple reasons. For one, he was younger than her—and didn't need to be mixed up in her and Hanzo's affairs. He had his own life and problems to handle without worrying more about them. Another reason was that if he became knowledgeable about the way the Spirals women manipulated their men, he would undoubtedly begin to question Jun's feelings and motives for Hanzo. She loved Genji as though he were her own younger brother, but Hanzo was his blood relative and had spent his entire life clinging to his brother's kimono sleeve, nothing could separate the two of them.

"Nooo..." his voice trailed off and made her look up at him with a pleading look. "I was spying on the new woman. I...overheard her."

Jun sighed, this wasn't good—and telling his mother, while the right thing to do, was going to be difficult with snakes slithering around her heels, listening for gossip. She was racking her brain for something to tell him, some task to distract him that would keep him both far away from Hanzo and Tora, when the hard thump of Genji dropping to the ground made her look.

"Genji..." She started but fell silent, struggling with herself.

"I don't want her anywhere near my brother." Genji snapped, Jun's eyes widened when he turned and stared at her with fire in his eyes. "She's mean and intends on trying to steal him from you. I won't let that happen." He climbed up onto the engawa and took Jun's hands in his own and squeezed them.

"You're my brother's true love Jun, I've never seen him so happy. Hell, what am I saying, it's Hanzo—I've barely even seen him content—much less this happy!" He barked out laughter but there were tears in his eyes. His cheeks were flushing with the struggle to keep them locked away but Jun could see him trying to swallow the lump in his throat. "He loves you Jun, and I know—I know you love him!" He moved his hands to her cheeks and put his forehead to hers. She could see images reflected in his watery eyes, "Don't let that vile snake-woman get inside your head. No one tears the Shimada's apart. No one."

"Genji—"

"I know, you're not a born Shimada, but as far as Hanzo and I are concerned, you are a Shimada in all but name." He smiled and a tear escaped from his eye. Jun stopped its trail with her thumb and pinched his cheeks.

"Thanks, Genji, I felt myself sinking into a dark hole." Jun slapped his shoulders and forced herself to grin, she wouldn't let Genji become too cynical or downtrodden because of her. "But you've pulled me out of it." She gave him a stern look and put her forehead to his to make sure he couldn't look anywhere but her eyes. "Your home has become a snakes nest Genji. We have to be careful in getting rid of them." The young boy blinked and nodded, determination hardening his stare and the stiffness in his jaw. "Keep an eye on Tora when you are around and use all those hiding skills to make sure you aren't caught. If she catches on that we are watching her, then she will work harder to stay."

"Then the mission would fail." Genji looked down, already sadden by the thought. "But what can we do to make her leave?" His voice cracked with the rise in fear, "If she's determined to get between you and my brother—what can we do to make her leave?"

"I'm not sure—and it's not just her we have to worry about. She's with her mother and Grandmother too, even if we get Tora to want to leave, her mother or grandmother could order her to stay put. To put up with whatever we threw at her for the sake of her clan. You know how far you'd go and what you'd do and put up with to keep your mother happy—right?" Genji grimaced and nodded, "Then we must assume the same for her."

Genji pulled back away from Jun, looking toward the house. Jun took in a deep breath and hold it, counting out the beats to her heart to keep calm against the racing thoughts spurred by worry pricking the back portion of her mind. Then she heard it, the soft playful call from Tora from inside the house.

"Genji-kun~, where are you?"

A mischievous smile spread across Genji's face, his eyes lighting up. "I have a few pranks that might do well against her."

"Oh, Hanzo!" Tora's pitch rose and both Jun and Genji's looked soured at the same time.

"Only a little dangerous now," Jun ground her teeth as she spoke, "We wouldn't want to kill the little bitch."

"Understood," Genji growled as Hanzo's voice filtered through the air.

"Kobayashi-san," Hanzo's voice responded flatly as Genji slipped away, reaching out and giving Jun's hand a squeeze. "I'm sorry to have left you all with little greeting, but I'm afraid we had to make accommodations for your carriage and horses and there were other matters to deal with." Jun was too wrapped up in looking inside the house to see Genji slip away.

"Oh it is no trouble Shimada-dono," Tora was practically purring, "I was just admiring your mothers splendid garden with Hashira-san."

"Where is she?" Hanzo asked, and Jun didn't bother to hide the pride on her face as her heart lifted, the sound of Hanzo's voice picking up at the mention of her.

"Oh I'm not sure—we decided to split up and—"

"Do I hear my Dragon rumbling?" Jun called as she walked inside the house. Hanzo and Tora were standing on opposite sides of the hallway, and Hanzo brightened at the sight of Jun. "There you are, are the animals taken care of?" She crossed her arms as she walked to stand beside Hanzo, sliding a sly glance at Tora to catch the shift in her eyes and stance.

"Yes, they're being cared for and prepped for when you're ready to leave," Hanzo spoke first to Jun, and then nodded to Tora who looked hurt. "We wouldn't want to delay your arrival to your appointed destination."

"Oh, I don't think we will be leaving for some time—" Tora began when Jun put her hand on Hanzo's arm and pulled his attention to her.

"Dear, I was hoping to speak with you privately, we haven't had a chance to discuss the wedding since the fire and Lady Ryoko was asking me about some of the preparations. Will your duties be finished soon?"

"Yes, of course." Hanzo covered her hand with his and gave it an affectionate squeeze. "I was just looking for Genji, have you seen him?"

"No," Jun lied effortlessly, shaking her head and glancing at Tora who blinked and matched the movement but seemed unsure of what she was answering to. "Have you checked the kitchens yet or his room?"

"I have my rooms, but I hadn't thought of the kitchens—are you ladies hungry? It is almost time for dinner to be served, would be just like the little troublemaker to sneak in for a pre-dinner snack." Hanzo rubbed his chin in thought with his free hand.

"I'll come with you to check; I'd like to see if they need help in the kitchens." Jun offered, turning toward the kitchens, "We can talk privately along the way." She pulled out of his grip slowly, noticing how he tightened his hold but only slightly so that when their hands separated and she walked away, he was left holding his hand out toward her.

"I passed by and said hello to your mother and grandmother Kobayashi-san," Hanzo said as he stepped toward Jun who took another half step away, teasing him into following her back down the hall the way he had come. "They were growing a bit worried, would you mind telling them that I'm stealing Jun away for some time? We will return at dinner with Genji in tow and we can all sit down for some proper company and conversation." He dipped into a bow before he turned and followed Jun down the hallway, reaching out and taking her hand firmly.

Along the walk, Hanzo opened his mouth twice to speak but stopped when he saw the look she gave him and the squeeze she gave his hand, silently pleading 'just a little longer'. They had reached the door to the kitchen and he held her back by her arm to keep her from walking inside. His face was stern, his brows knit together while not angrily, it showed concern that showed in his eyes as they searched her face.

"Jun what is wrong?"

Jun glanced around, peeking inside the kitchen which was buzzing with servants going about their preparations. Down the hall, there was no one, but she didn't like how close some of the rooms were to them, and part of her wanted to check if the closest door truly was slid all the way shut. She pulled Hanzo back up the hall and turned right through a door onto the engawa and stepped out into the yard before checking the roof carefully, leaving Hanzo standing confused and skeptical on the engawa's edge. "What are you looking for?"

"Genji," She replied, Or someone who shouldn't be there. She added silently to herself, then beckoned Hanzo to follow to a nearby tree. It wasn't until she was under its shade and sure by the sounds around her that they were alone that she looked back to see her groom to be watching her with more than a hint of concern in his expression. "What is it?"

"You're acting far beyond strangely," Hanzo snapped under his breath as he came closer, glancing both ways to make sure that no one was about to walk up on them and overhear. "You act as if there is danger nearby."

"Perhaps there is." Jun hissed back at him, putting her hand on the tree, feeling as though the very earth beneath her feet would give way with the sinking feeling in her stomach. "Hanzo I feel as though I'm walking on spear-tips, there is danger with every breath and every step of my way."

"You're still tired," Hanzo's anxious look gave way to heartbreak and he pulled her close, gently rubbing her back as he squeezed her. "You didn't sleep well, and you've not been taking proper care of yourself—things have happened in such quick succession." He pulled back from her and pressed a kiss to her forehead, the warmth and caress of his lips softening muscles that Jun hadn't realized where so taut and tense. "I want you to try and relax some, enjoy the company of Kobayashi-san, she seems to have taken to you."

"I have not to her." Jun grumbled sourly, tightening her hold around Hanzo's waist and glaring at the house from around his shoulder as he put a hand on her head, rubbing her short hair affectionately.

"That is the exhaustion telling you there is a threat. While it's true that they can't learn the truth about the situation, I do not think they hold ill intention and are simply looking for companionship. Traveling long distances can be tiresome with the same company day in and out. They long for fresh faces and conversation." He pushed her away and held her at arm's length, "When was the last time you spoke to some of your friends? What about that one girl...the one you introduced to Genji so long ago? I have not heard you speak about her in so long."

"...Keiko..." Jun felt a pang of guilt, she hadn't sent a letter to her friend Keiko in a while, to busy with the events going on. She hadn't even thought of Keiko in weeks, to busy being wrapped up in Hanzo's world and daydreaming of wedding possibilities and plans. If there was anyone still alive that Jun could wish that she had by her side in a time like this, it was Keiko.

"Why don't you write her a letter and invite her over once the Kobayashi's have gone? It would do you some good to have someone else you trust nearby, someone you can confide in."

"It will do nothing for the feeling I have inside now," She pulled on his kimono sleeve to make him look at her as he sighed and tried to turn away from her, "Hanzo listen to me, please. There is something about Tora Kobayashi and her elders that I do not trust. They have some alternative goals, and I'm sure of at least one." She tried to fight the quiver in her stomach as she spoke, How foolish and jealous will he think I am when I tell him that their plan is to come between us. She thought hatefully to herself as she watched him turn to regard her carefully. "I can hear it in their tones, see it in their eyes. You may not believe me, but I implore you my dragon, listen to me. Those women are up to no good."

"I want to be able to trust in what you're saying Jun," Hanzo cupped her face in his rough hands and rubbed her cheeks softly. "But I need to know that this isn't something you have imagined in the darkest corners of your mind either. You have suffered so much the last while, it would be so very easy to turn your back on the entire world and see dangers with every shadow, an attack at every turn." He leaned in close, barely allowing their lips to brush, "Promise me that you will take care of yourself, starting now."

"I have been trying to—"

"Shhh," Hanzo hushed her gently, pressing his lips against hers to silence her when she tried to speak again. "Self-care. Promise me."

"...I promise..." Jun agreed meekly, closing her eyes. She couldn't deny the truth in his logic if there was anything that Hanzo was—it was logical to a fault. She hadn't gotten anywhere near the amount of rest she needed to be at her best, and she hadn't been eating regularly to fuel herself and it was beginning to catch up to her. Maybe I should tell him about what Tora said...or let Genji. He might see how tired I am, maybe he would listen to Genji with ears that actually listen and see with clear eyes the danger at his feet. I dare not leave him alone with her, even if it means running myself ragged; I can't leave him vulnerable to her.

"That's my resilient peony." He gave her another kiss, lighter and gentler before he pulled away, "I'm going to see if I can find Genji, I don't want any arguing..." He was pulling away from her, but she didn't want to let him go, holding onto his hands tightly. "Go to my room and take a nap, I'll come to wake you when dinner is done, I'm sure my mother, brother and I can entertain the guests—they'll understand that you're tired after all the excitement."

"At least let me help you find Genji," She pleaded, stepping toward him but Hanzo kept her at bay, pushing her backward softly. "Please Hanzo? I'll sleep so much better."

"Then go to his rooms while I check the kitchen a little more thoroughly, if you find him—then send him to the tearoom with the women, it will be where I go next if I can't find him. Do you agree to that?"

No, she thought hatefully to herself—realizing how her fatigue was making her irritable. It's making me sloppy, she continued to herself, I can't protect him if I'm falling asleep and delusional.

"Okay, but if I don't find him in your rooms, I'm going to come tell you and you can't stop me." She warned as Hanzo gave only half a smile, his eyes softening before looking toward the house and letting her go. The sudden loss of his heat in her hands seemed like a foul omen of the future.

He had just turned his back to her and started for the kitchen when Jun made her way to the engawa and followed it around the side of the house to the garden that lead to the brothers set of rooms. There was no sign of Genji along the rooftops, or along the estate wall, she glanced through the trees but knew that if Genji were hiding and knew that she was looking for him as obvious as she was—he would come to her without the need for shouting and drawing attention.

She didn't dare go toward the storehouse, unsure if Ryoko had time enough to send Shuzu away silently and unable to ask—too frightened of listening ears to even risk it until long after Tora and her family had left the estate. A flash of green fabric caught her eye as someone turned the corner around the engawa that encased Genji's rooms and she called out, "Excuse me!"

She was pleased to see Genji turn around and beam at her, doubling back and coming to clasp her hands tightly, the glint of mischief in his large eyes. His kimono seemed lumpy and she resisted asking him what it was that he was hiding, the less she knew about what he was up to for pranks—the more genuine and believable her surprise would be once she saw them for herself. She waved her hands as he opened up his mouth and began reaching inside.

"No, no." She told him with a smile, "The less I know, the better. Go about your business and then please, stay by your brothers' side?" She put her hands on his shoulders and was shocked when she thought she felt something move and twitch away from her hand. She flinched and pulled her hands away in caution, not liking how Genji was snickering at her reaction. "Hanzo is all but ordering me to rest," She sighed and felt the tense muscles shift as she wrapped her arms around herself protectively. "I didn't rest as well as needed and with preparations, I've been running around like mad trying to prepare for their arrival and..." She put one of her hands to her forehead and felt the pinch of skin between her brows that seemed permanently wrinkled with anger and despair. "That woman taxes my nerves."

"I didn't want to say anything.." Genji's cheeks tinted softly in the dimming light of the setting sun, "But Jun-chan, you do look really tired. I saw you working with the servants...helping scrub and wipe and clean...you've worked yourself really hard and you've not even eaten yet today." He looked up at her and she could see the same look of worry that Hanzo's had held. "No wonder you are tired and worn, you should rest." He put his heels together and straightened his posture, the waist area of his training clothes shifting and moving in several different places, concealing some other being inside its fabric. "Leave it to me, I'll run her off and everything can go back to normal."

"Thank you Genji," She smiled sadly, "I'd hug you, but I'm frightened of what you are harboring in your clothes." She tapped his nose with her finger, "Best to get rid of...whatever you are hiding before it decides to bite you."

A smile started to spread across Genji's face but she could see sudden fear take the flush from his cheeks and the joy from his expression. His eyes were locked on something behind her, low to the ground. Jun tried to turn and look to see what it was that was scaring him, but he grabbed her right arm and pulled her to his side. A hiss reached her ears and Jun felt the familiar rush of cold fear turn her blood into ice, it had come from the room Genji had just left, the door slightly left open in his rush. It curled up on itself and hissed again as Genji reached inside his shirt and produced a small kunai.

"Stay really still," He told her, "we can't let it just wander the grounds." He tightened his grip on the kunai and slowly drew back his arm, watching the snake curl and wind itself into a mess of its lengthy body. Jun held her breath, half wondering how a snake could be wandering around—the winter season was ending but it was far too soon and too cold to see snakes about naturally. As she blinked Genji threw the knife and she could feel him flinch beside her as they heard it sink into its target.

It wasn't a direct hit, but it had pinned the creature to the wood and prevented it from moving. Its mouth opened and closed as it struggled against the knife, too deeply embedded into the wood to release itself. Genji groaned when he saw it was still alive and looked toward the door where it had emerged.

"I was just in there and had no idea it was even..." He trailed off, his mind obviously going to the worst possible events.

"More than that..." Jun whispered in his ear, her eyes scanning the surroundings slowly. "It's still too early for snakes to be about unless it has been kept as a pet." She gave him a pointed look as he blanched, looking at her slack-jawed and wide-eyed. "A snake nest indeed." She glared at the writhing form and took Genji by the shoulders. "Go..." She glanced down at his clothing as it wiggled and twitched with more agitation, whatever he was hiding was nearing the end of its patiences. "Get rid of whatever that is and come to the tearoom with us, Hanzo said they would be serving dinner soon and I think it's prudent that we share this...odd development. Don't you agree?" She waited for him to nod and then put a hand on his head, although a little difficult as he was starting to leave her behind in height as well. "Be swift little brother, and sure in your skills, don't let anyone follow you, hear you or suspect you of any wrongdoing."

"You too," He beamed at the title and went to hug her around the neck, only to be held at arms length and reminded with a pointed look to his clothes before he laughed and took off for the edge of the yard, climbing up on the wall and walking across it with sure silent steps before he disappeared into the trees.

Jun glared once more at the snake as it lost fluid on the hardwood floor and reminded herself to fetch some kunai for herself. She wouldn't be getting any true rest anytime soon—but she wasn't about to be bitten in what had become her own home.


End file.
